Strike a pose!
by SimplyIsabelleS
Summary: Erza Scarlet is an interior designer. Occasionally, she helps her best friend, a photographer, as a model. But, even with her friends, she id lonely. One day, for being one of the best employees she gets a special vacation trip to Spain. With the meeting of the obvious man, her whole life changes .
1. One

**I do not own Fairy Tail. Otherwise I wouldn't write it. Ah, so tragic.**

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**One.**

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"Oh, come on, dear, one more photo and you're free!" laughed Levy McGarden, setting camera on the right mode and checking the battery of her brand new Canon. The moment for a photo was ideal since, right then, no one was walking on the street they were having a session.

"Levy, I really don't feel comfortable in _those_ clothes…" said Erza Scarlet for the fifth time by then, showing her friend an outfit she had on herself, more than a little embarrassed and uncertain. "I mean, it's not like I am a real model, and yet you made me come here and have a photo shoot…"

"But Erza, you look simply fabulous" Levy rolled her eyes, to even greater annoyance of the forced-to-be model. "You still don't believe me, right? Hey, hey! Mister! Excuse me!"

"Levy_, don't_!" moaned Erza, but it was already too late.

"Mister, what do you think of my model's outfit? How does she look in it?" the little photographer asked after she had stopped a random man with complete seriousness on her tiny face.

"Er, well…" stumbled the man, obviously surprised and abashed. "Your model really looks outstanding, I'd say… Good job as a stylist for you, missy."

"Thank you very much" smiled at him Levy. The man nodded, unsure if that meant he may go, but since the blunette stopped paying attention on him, he quickly pulled out. "See, Erza?"

"That wasn't necessary" mumbled the momentary model, ashamed to the limits. Inside, she was really angry with herself. What on Earthland made her say '_yes'_ to that moony woman who was her friend? What was more, Levy did not make her shooting in the studio like Erza thought it would be, but forced her to go out in the city like that. Dressed in a gothic outfit, with a corset exposing her curves, and there was even a black ribbon in her hair. Moreover, she was wearing long black boots with heels. "Can we end this?"

"Sure. Just strike a pose. The last one."

Erza did as the blunette told her, and smiled a little. Finally, the camera clicked a few times and Levy straightened up, saying "Done." Erza sighed and came closer to the photographer. She wanted to see the pictures, at least the last ones, but Levy took the camera away. "After I do them, Er."

"Okay, okay. It's not like I want to see them so badly" said the redhead rapidly, taking off the ribbon. All she was dreaming about was to go home and change into her regular clothes. Besides, what would her childhood friend, Gray, say? She shivered. "I'm going, then."

"Wait! I promised that I will make it up to you" Levy winked at her. "But maybe you're right. Later. What do you say? We can invite Cana and Gray, too. We want to say goodbye to you properly before you leave us…"

"I'm having a furlough, that's not leaving my friends!" opposed Erza. "But this is a great idea. I would love to see you all."

"Then meet us at 7mp in _Rosemary's Place_, our usual restaurant. Don't be late!" Levy gave her a wave and rushed the opposite way.

"Yeah, you too" Erza smiled and folded her arms. She was glad that they would have met before she went to Spain on vacation. The interior designing company she was working at was sending the best employees abroad. She received so many good opinions from the clients and was such a hard-worker that her boss, Evergreen, came to her in person. The redhead was happy to accept the proposition, and visit a foreign country. The boss gave her all the information needed, all dates, the hotel address and a name of place where she will stay for two weeks.

Erza Scarlet smirked and headed home; she completely forgot about the extraordinary outfit and photos, deep in thought. Spain, huh… Sounded to her like a dream. Out of Japan. Away from her friends. Resting. That was a nice distraction from her everyday life and past… Which was hard to even think of. Her father… And good-hearted Mom… No. She must not have thought about that… She was supposed to forget everything, to start a new life. She moved out. She was supposed to forget about his very _existence_…

All in all, Erza ended up running home and holding tears till the moment she finally opened the door to her flat.

* * *

Erza managed to get over the miserable memories by taking a mixed shower. Cold water created her diversion, and a hot jet made her relieved and calm. Taking a deep breath, she managed to push those thoughts aside and peacefully prepare to the dinner with her best friends.

She came to a big wardrobe, and started to look for a dress for the evening. _Well, this is the last night in Japan for now, so at least I need to show how I care about my comrades_, thought Erza with a tender smile. She took out a blue dress, which ended just before the knees, with thin shoulder straps. Yes. Not too flashy, and not too modest. Just good for the restaurant such as _Rosemary's Place_.

Not wasting any time, Erza tried her on and moved in front of a mirror on the opposite wall, watching herself critically. She always liked her figure, being strongly womanly. The dress she picked was showing what she wanted to expose, and nothing more, which could be taken as inappropriate. The interior designer nodded and stripped. There was still some time and she could have make it dirty or damage it.

The redhead checked the time. She still had an hour to spend at home, so she decided to check out what is happening in the world. Erza turned on the news and learned that there was nothing special. She surfed through the canals with bored expression. Lastly, the canal with music remained turned on as Erza went to do a make up. The woman did not think about any important matter, singing along with a singer on TV. Then she put on the dress, checked herself in the mirror, turned off the TV and went out of the flat, remembering to take the gothic clothes from today's photo session. Her plan was to give them back to Levy before the rest of the companions will see it.

Erza was going deliberately afoot, still crooning the song she heard on TV. The night was falling over Magnolia, and it was a nice stroll she was getting right then. How unfortunate that the _Rosemary's Place_ was only five minutes from home… Well, maybe that's better, it would have been easier for her to come back.

"Erza!" she looked behind and saw Gray Fullbuster, her childhood friend, who was smiling with happiness and kindness which she adored in him. "You look outstanding! And how I missed you!"

"Gray, you handsome man" she laughed, kissing him on the cheek. "Missed you too, buddy."

"Ready for the best evening of your vacation? Because you're not gonna spend such a night there, where you go" he said with a funny look.

"Sure I am! Come on, Cana and Levy must be waiting for us" Erza rushed him and he opened the door before her with a small bow, like a real gentleman. That made her smile and she said with fondness "Thank you."

Gray looked like he was really complacent. Erza was going first and she quickly found two ladies sitting in the middle of the place. She turned to Gray with a smile, took his hand and hurried towards them.

"Cana! Hello again, Levy!" exclaimed Erza, hugging Cana Alberona from behind, hiding face into her beautiful brown hair. "I haven't seen you for ages, dear."

"Yeah, the same goes for you, Erza" said Cana with a sly smile, making all the vowels longer. "You're leaving us for two weeks, huh? And I found out just the day before yesterday! How mean…"

"Sorry, I couldn't tell you earlier, I was quite busy…" explained the redhead, and sat in front of Cana. Gray took a chair next to Levy, catty-cornered from her.

"Oh? Busy? Maybe some man finally showed up?" in the brunette's eyes twinkled an interest. Erza almost burst out laughing. Cana was that type of a woman. She never ever said anything without second meaning. Oh, how she missed her!

"Yes, Cana, dream on" said Levy with a mysterious smile. "She was busy being my model."

"Really?" Gray got interested, and stopped reading the menu for a moment.

"Yes, but Levy was not supposed to say anything about it" moaned Erza, blushing a little. She sent the blunette a look of a betrayed person, but Levy only shrugged her shoulders and added "But just you wait until we finish the dinner – I got all the pictures here!" She patted her bag, where must have been a laptop, the essential machine of hers.

"Woah, fantastic" clapped her hands Cana, and took a menu laying in front of her. "Whose treat is it this time?"

"Mine" answered Erza, but her friends protested.

"No, you need some money with you abroad!"

"I will treat you, guys" said Gray as soon as he could.

"Eeeeh? Thanks, Gray!" Cana winked at him, licking her lips. "Mm, what great things they have here…"

"Thank you, you're so sweet" sighed the redhead, and Levy nodded vigorously at her words. Gray turned a bit redder on the cheeks, but said nothing.

It was the best beginning of vacation she had ever had. Gray did not joke around when he said he was going to treat them and bought the best meals from the menu for all. Then he insisted on taking a dessert or at least coffee, which was one of the best taste in Magnolia as far as they knew. Every minute of their meeting was colored with a conversation, like the ones they used to have a long time ago. Erza leaned her chin on hands and pretended to listen to Cana teasing Gray again, but in fact she was enjoying the view of the loved ones before tomorrow's departure.

"Er, what are you doing?" Levy waved her hand before the redhead's nose.

"Ah, nothing" laughed the woman. "I was spacing out, and thinking how I'm gonna miss you all."

"Ah, right! Before you go. The pictures!" Levy face-palmed herself, and took out the laptop. Erza looked like she bit something bitter. "Oh, don't make such a face. Look, look, they're really good."

The interior designer forced herself to look into the monitor of Levy's laptop. Well, it was not that bad, she thought. But she preferred not showing them to Cana and Gray. The first one was commenting every one of them with a sexual overtone, and the man was only blushing, which Erza found quite interesting.

"Okay. That's it" announced Levy and showed them the last photo, then closed the device. "Now, tell me, Er, where are you going? We only know that it's going to be far away…"

"Yeah, I haven't told you yet. It's Spain, Málaga. The hotel where I'm staying is situated right next to the sea." explained Erza.

"Mm, Erza, you lucky bastard! All the hot-tempered Spanish men for you, aww. Fantastic" sighed Cana with jealousy.

"Well, enjoy yourself there" said Levy, smiling.

"And be careful, Erza" finished Gray with an inscrutable expression.

"Sure I will" Erza looked at the clock. It was half past midnight, and she still had to pack her things. Huh, she had not even started yet. "Well, then. I must be going now."

"Oh, take care" the women hugged her. She promised that she would be writing, so they needed to check their mails. Then she turned to Gray.

"Don't be silly and let me take you home" he mumbled.

"Oi, Gray! What about us?" asked Cana, surprised.

"You need to wait for me" he shrugged his shoulders, and smiled "Otherwise you will be stuck here. It won't take long."

Erza waved at her friends and left with Gray behind her. They started walking in silence, watching the stars above. It was truly a beautiful night, she thought, noticing the charm of every little piece on their road. The man was strangely quiet, which was unlike him. Erza prodded him and said with concern "Is everything all right?"

"Oh? Ah, yes, yes" he answered rapidly, his arm wandered to his hair, which was a natural reaction of Gray when he was uncomfortable. She knew him too well to let it go.

"No, it's not. Tell me" she inclined so that she could see his downcast face from under. "You can tell me!"

It happened fast. She had not noticed the salient paving stone which she tripped over. She only felt in amazement that she started to fall, and some strong hands caught her halfway to the ground. She looked up, straight at the face of her childhood friend. Gray had eyes opened to the limits, and was panting. There was a strange tension between them, and Erza could not have told what was that. But she knew that her legs refused to make any movement at all. So they froze in that pose, trying to unveil the other's thoughts.

"Um, Gray?" said finally Erza with a small voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry" he budged, and helped her to stand straight. He turned his face away, and stuck an elbow. "Here. I always thought of those stupid heels they're dangerous."

Erza took it and they continued going, ruminative. Finally, they reached Erza's flat. She turned to him to say goodbye, but saw that he was battling with something, so she decided to wait. At last, he made a decision.

"Erza."

"Y-yes?" she started to feel scared, and somehow excited, which was a kicker to her.

"I must tell you." Gray took her hands in his, and looked her in the eyes. She was paralyzed. "I… wanted to tell you for a long time. I don't really know where to start…" she waited, but she could not have moved anyway. Suddenly, he looked at her with such a passion, and uncertainty, that she shivered. "Erza. I love you. I've been wondering for a while now, why do I feel uneasy when I'm with you… Or so overprotective… And I blush every time I look at you. Now I am sure." Gray took a deep breath and continued. "I always had a weakness towards you… It was because of my feelings."

"G-gray…" Erza managed to voice it.

"Listen, Erza. I confessed, but please. Do not answer me right now" he said with hard expression. "I want you to think about it for a while. And… Maybe when you come back, maybe later… When you will be ready, we will talk about it. Now, goodnight. And take care in Spain."

He hugged her tenderly, strongly, _manly_, like he never did before. Erza felt a bit dizzy from the overtake of emotions and thoughts inside her head. Gray stood back and walked away at once, not turning back. She stood there, under her own staircase with shocked expression. When the profile of the man disappeared, she finally came to her senses. The redhead touched her forehead, and closed her eyes. What was that, all of sudden? Gray? In love… With her?

No. It was too much for her to think about it then. Her mind refused to go deeper into all the memories and the words he told her. Finally, Erza went upstairs, opened the door and went inside. Now, the enormity of the Gray's confession fell onto her.

All she could have said right then was a simple '_Oh_.'

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**There! tadaaaam**

**The second Jerza, couldn't help it, I just had to write it.**

**To all the Gray fans, I'm so very sorry. But I just l-o-v-e the idea of Gray's unrequited love for Erza ^^ **

**There is no Jellal yet, but don't worry:) he's going to show up soon. Mmm, maybe the next chapter?**

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**PS I made a poll on my profile's main site. Some of you asked me about writing with dashes and some of you prefer apostrophes, so according to the results of the poll I will change my style. Or not ;)**

**Cheers, and thank you soooo much for every review.**


	2. Two

**I will never be the owner of such a great story as Fairy Tail. I own nothing.**

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**(You know what? I think you can throw yourself into depression, writing things like that :D Saying you're never gonna be that great to make your own story… And I'm starting believing it :D Hahaha. Seriously.)**

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**Two.**

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That night Erza was barely able to sleep. Definitely, packing up at the late hour and forgetting every little thing, for instance of a toothbrush or _one_ of her sandals was not going to help on too much of thinking. She was blaming her giddiness on the fact that one of her best friends confessed his love to her. She was also sure that her shaking hands had so much to do with that matter… And why on Earth would she try to pack her winter coat instead of bikini?! Well. Gray was her childhood friend, he was always helpful. Good-mannered and gentle. That would never change. And God knows for how much time he was in love with her. Poor Gray…! Erza was truly all at sea; she did not know what to do, or how her answer should sound. The truth was she never ever considered the man as a candidate for a boyfriend for herself. The woman rubbed her face with her hands and stopped thinking about it for some time in order to finish packing.

Right then it was morning and she had about ten minutes to leave her home and get into a taxi. Erza sighed heavily and threw her list of things needed away. Almost everything was ready, all she had to do was taking documents and plane tickets to a huge bag which was her hand luggage. The redhead walked slowly to the window and looked out. She was probably going to miss that view. No matter how beautiful it will be in Spain. There was nothing as good as one's own home, was there not?

The woman passed through the room to get her passport. When she put it safely into the bag, she finally felt ready to leave Japan. One final look at the picture of her, Cana, Levy and Gray standing in a frame on the TV and she lifted the luggage, put the bag onto her shoulder and without turning back left the room, except for locking it safely for the time being.

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Erza passed her boarding card to the lady at the last gate before getting in the plane. The lady smiled, wished her a good flight and waved at the glass corridor which lead to the flying machine. Erza nodded and crossed the gate. She felt uneasy, for that was her first time entering the airplane. The journey was supposed to last eleven hours. The boss of the designing company, Evergreen, really took care of everything and booked the best seats for the best and fastest aviation. Still, that was surely to take a long time, getting to Spain. And, what Erza was worried about the most, who will be sitting next to her? _Please, don't let them be any small children. I won't be able to stand too much yelling!, _she prayed inside her head.

When she boarded a plane, the stewards, quite cheerful and always smiling, greeted her. Erza smiled a bit nervously, looking lost and abashed. One of them, whose plate on a jacket was saying _Fernando_, moved towards her and asked "Do you need some help, madam?"

"Yes, please. I'm sorry to make such a problem, it's my first time…" she quickly explained as the Fernando guy took her hand luggage and checked a number of the seat on her ticket. She felt relieved that somebody took care of her, and at the same time ashamed of her helplessness… Fortunately, there was no one around.

"No problem at all! Always at your service, Miss. Would you like to put your bag in the shelf above, or do you need it to be next to you?" answered the steward and turned to her, showing her seat next to the window. _The VIP seats_, she read above. She felt a wave of gratitude towards that boy who took care of every question in her head on his own.

"I would like to keep it close to myself, thank you" said Erza and sat down.

"_Muy bien_. If you need any help, push this button" the steward showed her a red switch above her head, bowed down, smiled and walked away to welcome other passengers. Erza was left alone. She glared outside the window, but there was nothing to see, not yet. Only some asphalt and a crowd of people in a line up getting on the board. They were visibly impatient and were pushing each other. The redhead smiled under her nose. That was a real luck she was already sitting inside.

The interior designer looked at the two seats in front of her. She was wondering who could have shared this place with her, and prayed again for them to be nice people – after all, they had to spend eleven hours together!

The people started entering the plane. Erza was observing them discretely. There were a few loud women who – thank goodness – went farther. There was a man who gave her a look of small interest and also passed further. The same went for a horde of Spanish people, who were discoursing on something she could not have understood because of the Spanish language. She knew some English, but had never thought before about learning the language of Latinos… Luckily, there was not a single one of them who sat in front of the redhead. Erza closed her eyes for a moment, relieved.

"Oi, Lucy. I think I've found our seats!" said some male voice loudly. The red-haired woman opened her eyes just to notice a pinkheaded guy, standing alongside the narrow plane corridor and waving at someone. Then he turned to Erza and eyed her up. "I'm sorry, just a second."

"J-just a second to what?" she asked, surprised.

The man did not reply, but yelled something in the direction of entrance and threw himself on the seat in front of her. "Aaaah, so comfortable! By the way" he started, glancing at her again "Woah, you're such a babe!"

"Natsu! Don't go appalling strangers" the high voice of a blond woman reached Erza's ears. She looked with hope at the lady, who seemed to be well-mannered, on the contrary to the man, who peered at her with a grimace of a five-year-old. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss. He's a great guy, just a bit… Eem, ill-mannered."

"Hey, watch your mouth!" the man called Natsu and crossed his arms.

"Anyway, I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you" the blonde sat down and smiled to Erza, who nodded and introduced herself. "First time at the plane?"

"And what about me, won't you introduce _me_?!" the pinkhead said loudly.

Lucy gave him a terrifying look under which he cowered visibly. "Cannot you do it yourself?"

"R-right… I apologize" he turned to the redhead, completely changing his attitude. "I'm Natsu, that girl's fiancé. Nice to meet you, Erza-chan."

"Just Erza is okay" the interior designer forced herself to stay calm and not to burst out laughing. The blonde definitely knew well how to deal with him. "Nice to meet you. Are you staying in Spain, too? Or going further?"

"Nah, in Spain. Lucy didn't want to go anywhere else, geez. And we're going to stay at some hotel Something's Place… Yyy… Or Balance?"

"It's _Palace_, idiot." Lucy sighed, and corrected: "Malaga's Palm Palace (**AN: I made it up**)."

"The same place I am staying" Erza smiled. So she was going to have some friends there. Even if they were a little… Strange. Still, it was way better than being all alone.

"That's fantastic! You know, I was worried that we would be all alone and I will never be able to have any chit-chat with another woman" the blonde smirked. Erza laughed and glanced outside. The queue was gone. There was Fernando standing at the front of the plane, showing the passengers what to do in case of any accident. After explanations the three of them returned to the conversation. _It may not be that bad, after all_.

* * *

All in all, practically the whole flight passed like a thunder. Erza got to know Lucy pretty well, she even discovered that their professions were similar (Lucy was a fashion designer) and they promised each other to stick together at every party or fiesta there was going to take place. And, according to the information they gathered, the organization was planning on doing one each day. Natsu fell asleep as soon as the airplane started, because, as his fiancé said, he had a horrible motion sickness and had to take the whole pack of Aviomarin. After few hours, though, he woke up, and Erza discovered there a good interlocutor, the opposite of the first impression of him she had got. He even was capable of behaving like an urbane man. What was more to the surprise of Erza, he was a quite well-known reporter.

"And, can you imagine, that freaky man tried to blackmail me for doing a photo of that damn woman!" Natsu was relating his last commission during the last hour of flight.

"Please, fasten your seatbelts, we are going to land very soon" the voice was heard from above their heads. The three of them sighed with relief. Although it was nice to sit and talk like that, almost half of the day was definitely tiring.

"Finally!" yelled Natsu and sat straight.

"Erza, dear, you must go with us tonight for a walk on the beach" said Lucy, winking at her.

"Oh, I would be really glad" the redhead smiled at the new friend with gratitude.

Erza sighed and started watching the land and its ending with a line of the ocean. So beautiful. And sunny. Maybe the trip was not a bad idea. She smiled. _No. Not at all_.

* * *

"It's huuuuuge! Lucy, Erza, look! Palms!" Natsu was getting all excited when they arrived at the hotel.

The Malaga's Palm Palace was superior. It was made of the white marble, decorated with golden elements. The columns were at every passage, and the reception of the hotel was standing right on the right of entrance. There were live palms everywhere, which composed with the decorations fantastically. The people from the service were smiling and welcoming tirelessly every guest.

"Goodness, that's something" Erza sighed.

"Of course, it's one of the best hotels in Malaga" said Lucy.

"_Buenos __días_. How are you? Miss Scarlet and Mister and Misses Dragneel? Rooms number seventeen and twenty. Here are the keys. If you need something, call us through the phones from your rooms" The receptionist smiled at them and passed the cards. They took them, thanked and moved further not to stand in the passage.

"Lucky, we are. Living almost next to each other" grinned Natsu, scratching his forehead.

"Yeah. And, what's more, it's already evening. So, at what time do we meet?" asked Lucy. Erza gave her a questioning look. "Oh, you know, the stroll. Beach, stars and the ocean!"

"Well… An hour is enough?" she asked, looking at the clock which was showing 9pm. "Just to leave your things and get comfortable in the room."

"Sure. See ya!"

Erza walked into her room, looking around. It was beautiful. Its walls had a color of coconut, and one of them was red. There were huge windows and a balcony, from where was a beautiful view at the ocean and palms. Two deckchairs were standing there, ready to use them straight away. Curtains were rolled and placed in the corner of the room. There was also a TV, a wardrobe, a big bed and the door leading to a bathroom. The redhead left her luggage next to the bed and opened the balcony door. The hot, Spanish air flew into the room, carrying the smell of salty water, sand and tropics. Erza inhaled it for a moment, then turned to the luggage. Time to pack out.

She was lucky to meet the crazy couple on the plane. The interior designer could not have imagined being all alone in any country. She did not know the language, the habits and the culture was foreign to her as well. _I wish someone from my area of friends would come with me_, she sighed inside, placing a pile of shirts on a shelf in the wardrobe. Even that annoying Reedus, her job rival. Erza laughed. So that was the state of mind when people were wishing about something so unreasonable. She knew the moment Reedus would have been there, her vacation would have been over.

When the time was up, she changed into the shorts and T-shirt. _Not so bad_, she decided while looking into the mirror. Sandals. A small bag for the key and mobile phone. Checked. _Then, let's go_.

Lucy and Natsu were waiting at the hall in the main entrance, chatting. Erza hurried that way, waving at them. "Sorry for the wait."

"That's all right, we've just come as well. The beach is that way" said Lucy, pointing her finger at the second automatic door. They started walking there. "It's so hot here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and there is much moisture… The pictures won't be that good" commented Natsu.

Erza was the first to go out. The hotel's second exit was leading to the huge pool area. Palms and other citrus trees were growing all around. The swimming pools – there were two huge ones – were floodlighted, the water seemed azure and clean. There were countless loungers around, and some sunshades. In the middle of the area there was a bar, at that moment closed. Erza looked up at the sky. There was one element which was resembling Japan – them. Shining tremendously, they reminded her of her home. And the night strolls she was getting once upon a time. And her last night at home, when Gray… _No. Don't think about it now_. Bus she wondered if the man was thinking about herself that moment, looking into the sky as well and imagining her at some place.

"Oi! Girls, look, look! There are bananas!" the pinkhead yelled and rushed that way to perceive it better. Lucy, making use of the situation, moved closer to Erza, taking her under an arm.

"Tell me, Erza, what do you plan to do tomorrow?"

"Probably I'll end up at the beach, why?" the redhead asked, happy that Lucy sidetracked her from thinking about unnecessary things for a moment. At the same time, she knew what that meant: a boy talk. "Are you guys coming, too?"

"Yeah, guess so" she mumbled. "Natsu promised me that he'll take photos of me… But I really hate that idea of his. He said the reason are the bikinis from my collection, but I know what's really going on."

"He's just that kind of a guy" Erza laughed and prodded her. "Lucy, how long have you been engaged?"

"Oh? Something about five months, I suppose" the blonde smiled, looking at Natsu who was jumping around the banana tree like a child.

"You're cute together" the woman said, sighing. She would never admit it but she felt a hint of jealousy. They seemed perfect together. And loved each other. And everyone around had his ,or her, second half… Except for Erza Scarlet. Lucy noticed her friend was upset and asked half-joking, half-seriously:

"And what about you? With your looks I won't believe there is no one!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lucy" answered Erza. "There _is_ no one. Only my best friend, who confessed to me before leaving Japan."

"No waaaay!" the blonde shouted and stopped. "Really? Erza! Are you waiting for a Prince Charming of what?"

"I haven't met any man yet – or so I believe" the redhead said quietly, looking at the ground with burning cheeks.

"Erza, you must look around" Lucy lifted her head and skimmed the area of the pool. There were not many people, though. "O-okay, but tomorrow _I_ will find you some date. And I am not Lucy Heartfilia if I don't find you a man on who you'll look differently!"

The same second the women heard Natsu saying loudly "If you're not gonna hurry up, I will leave you on your own!"

Erza was pulled by the blonde and rushed on the beach which was already visible, not commenting on Lucy's vow. She was sure of one thing – there was something to be scared of.

Definitely.

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A few minutes before midnight Erza came back to her room, laughing. Her feet were bare, because from the beach stroll she got too much sand on them. The ocean was hot – they had been wading in the water until Natsu had not fallen in it. Wet and angry, he had become silent and had been walking behind them. Erza was gladly focusing on small things like a breeze at the beach, the touch of sand, still warm after the Malaga's sun and delicate waves touching their feet. Every detail in the horizon, every light and every sound was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. And had ever felt. No worries. Warmth of the night. And…

"Yes, that's a good word. Freedom" she whispered to herself, smiling beautifully. And that was only the beginning.

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**Ahhh, I wanted to give a hint of Jellal here, but decided to wait with it till the next chapter update. Although I miss him here, haha :D Already.**

**Thank you so much for every review, and every constructive criticism – I really appreciate it. And the fact that you spare some time to write it in this crazy world of rush. Real life's happening to many times, I know something about it.**

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**For today's update you can thank AddictedToFT – she was motivating me and making me write the chapter:) Thank you for that! *heart***


	3. Three

**Again, I own nothing.**

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**Also, the hotel in Malaga is not the actual place!**

**By the way, since there is some Spanish, please scroll down to read the explanation of the sentences if you don't understand;) thank you for your attention, now.. ****ENJOY.**

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**And thanks to Miss S. Grechy for the corrections of my Spanish:)**

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**Three.**

* * *

The next day came hastily. Erza was woken up by the sunlight getting into the hotel room through the windows. _Oh_. She forgot to occlude them with specially prepared curtains. At least she knew exactly what they were for. And how important it was to use them.

Erza checked up the time. It was almost half past seven. Well, she decided it was going to take some time to change that habit of morning awaking of hers. But, since she already had woken up, there was no point in trying to fall asleep. Besides, the sunlight dancing on her skin from the outside made her so joyful and vigorous that she simply had to get up.

The redhead took care of the basic hygiene, brushed her hair, dressed up in a miniskirt plus a shirt and left the room, heading to the lounge to have some breakfast. The hotel was offering a smorgasbord, or so it was written in the information she received from her boss, Evergreen. Erza nodded politely on the receptionist who greeted her with a smile and _Buenos días_. She passed through the main hall and entered the feast place. There were only a few people – it was still early, after all. The woman spotted two businessmen, sitting in suits and talking with aloofness. There were also three women, laughing loudly and being quite noisy. In the corner, there was a man who was sitting his back to her, probably drinking coffee. She noticed only an extraordinary color of his hair, which was of intensive blue. Finally, there was Lucy, on her own, just about to sit down at the table. The blonde held her eyes up and noticed her – she waved at the crimsonhead, inviting her to the same table. Erza smiled, bobbed and went to serve herself with food.

At first, she was quite amazed with the variety of the food. There were not only normal breakfast sets, but also fruit, fish, a choice of juices of any kind and desserts. The first thing Erza spotted were the strawberry cakes, which had always had some overwhelming power over her. Erza willingly rushed towards them. She took two cakes, although after putting the first one on a plate she hesitated. What would Lucy say about that? Eating sweets for the morning meal? But even that thought did not refrain her of taking both, and in addition, to cover that fact, she took some fruit and cheese on another plate.

"Erza, fantastic, I don't need to eat alone. I really hate doing so" Lucy greeted her when the interior designer sat down in front of her. The woman was sitting sideways to the diverted bluenet. "So, how was your first night?"

"Great!" said Erza, smiling. "I haven't slept like this for a long time."

"See, the magic of Spain!" laughed the blonde. "After the yesterday's walk I also slept really well. Natsu's always oversleeping everything, though…" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I think the worst part's that he may sleep through the whole breakfast time" Erza murmured, and they giggled in unison. The redhead wondered if the sun was causing their such good moods or it was something else. "Lucy, what're your plans for today?"

"Our? But, Erza, you're coming with us, aren't you? Wait!" Lucy face-palmed herself. "Don't tell me I forgot to tell you?!" The interior designer just shook her head in negation. "Okay, so we're going to the beach today – all of us!"

"Beach… Sounds great" Erza smiled and took a bite of melon, which she found very tasty. "You sure Natsu's going to get up?"

"Oh, I will make him. And, of course, he's taking a camera, so brace yourself, Erza! You're going to have many photos as well."

The crimsonhead abashed. That really reminded her of Levy and the photo session from before her departure… What an unlucky creature she was – she ran away from one of those camera lovers into the arms of another one! "C-cool…"

"Hey, don't be so worried. I'm sure you're really photogenic." Fortunately, the blonde took her expression as rather a uncertainty of her looks. Erza sighed and took another bite of the fruit. She noticed the movement at her left side where was the mysterious man, but when she caught a glimpse of him, the bluenet seemed to never shift an inch. _Strange_, she thought. The voice of Lucy deflated her. "… you know, you'll get fat."

"Oh! Sorry?"

"I said: don't eat those cakes! You're gonna be fat" repeated her friend, looking seriously worried.

"Sorry, but I just love them" smiled Erza. "They're my addiction. I'm not going to resign from them because of that matter alone."

"So, how will you find yourself a man?"

"Isn't it obvious that the man should love me for the way I really am rather than for my looks? I think that wouldn't matter to him much since he'd find me attractive anyway" the redhead scowled and looked at Lucy. And there was one more thing. That time Erza was sure that the enigmatic man gave a peek on her, and when she turned her head, she caught him on upturning his. She smirked. What was that supposed to mean?

"Hey, that's a really brave thing to say, you know" said Lucy, playing with her fork and looking a bit down. "And optimistic."

"Don't tell me you don't believe it!" Erza exclaimed.

"Well…"

"Do you really think that Natsu likes you because of the way you look like? And not who you are?" asked the scarlet-haired woman with doubt.

"Y-yeah! I think so" she confessed in a small voice. "He's talking with me only about the photos, magazines and stuff connected to our work. Of course, sometimes his mood changes and he's really sweet, but mostly…"

"But he sees you as a great, strong woman, I'm sure of it, Lucy. I can tell by the way he looks at you, and the way he speaks about you. He always puts much respect and love to it."

"Y-you think so?" Lucy was unsure.

"I _know_ that" assured Erza, patting her friend's hand.

Lucy smiled broadly, her face free of worry. "Thank you so much! I feel much better now."

"You're welcome" the interior designer laughed and put a fork with a piece of the strawberry cake in the mouth. She closed her eyes, enjoying the best taste in a world.

Someone approached them and she was forced to open her eyes, disturbing herself with enjoying the incredible flavor of strawberries. _"¡Hola! Perdone, ¿ya puedo recoger la mesa?_**¹**" the waiter smiled and apostrophized to both of them. Erza parted her lips, but could not say anything, so Lucy replied quickly:

"_No, todavía no. __Cuando terminaremos, ¿bien?_**²**"

"_Claro. ¡Qué aproveche!_**³**" the man turned and walked away. Erza cleared her throat.

"You must teach me some useful phrases and words in Spanish, Lucy. I barely know any."

"Woah, _¡chica loca!_" Lucy chuckled. "What are you even doing here, then? Okay. I'll teach you. So, let's start with the basics…"

The redhead was so absorbed in learning what Lucy was saying that she did not pay almost any attention to the mysterious man, who seemed determined not to turn around anymore. An hour later, when more people started coming to the dining room, the women begun to take their leave. She peeked at the guy in the corner one last time, but he remained just the same. _What a strange guy_, she thought.

"Erza, why don't we walk around the hotel now? I don't really want to go and wake Natsu up.. He's a real devil when I do that" Lucy winked at her.

"Mhm, good idea. I want to see some tropical vegetation as well, and at night it was almost invisible."

"Oh, sure!"

They walked around the pools, checking every place which appeared more interesting. They discovered the existence of a gym, two bars over the pools with nice Spanish people who invited them for a drink – that was a language debut for Erza, who was forced to say _'no, gracias, es demasiado temprano'_ to both of them under the watchful sight of Lucy and her nonpareil prompts which made her feel like in preschool again – and found a shorthand to the beach.

After the small sightseeing they went back to their rooms, promising to meet up at eleven o'clock. "Prepare a nice swimsuit, we're gonna have a photo session" reminded her Lucy and went away, waving. Erza shook her head with a smile and entered her own room.

* * *

"Hey, Natsu! I'm shocked you're up" said Lucy when she came into their room. Natsu was sitting at the table with an opened laptop. "Hey, you're not talking to me or what?"

"Look, Lucy. Isn't this her?" asked Natsu like he did not hear his girlfriend, showing her a chair next to him. Lucy came up to him and sat down, looking at the monitor. She choked.

"Y-yes… She looks totally like her… Do you think…?"

"Yeah, she didn't tell us about being a model at all" Natsu pouted, crossing his arms and looking hurt. "And I could take so much better photos of her! And look how perfect shapes she has!"

"Natsu!" Lucy patted him on the head with a roll of her eyes. "Behave!"

"Yeah, yeah. So, when do we go to the beach?"

"I arranged to meet with Erza at eleven. Okay?" Lucy sighed with relief when Natsu nodded. "Ah, I promised her you're gonna do many photos. So that's why she was so abashed!"

"Guess so. Besides, those are hell good photos of her" added Natsu, looking once again at the folder on his computer with Erza in gothic clothing, posing on the streets of Magnolia. "Well, then let's prepare ourselves."

* * *

The obvious trio met up at the exact time and headed to the beach. Erza noticed that Lucy and Natsu were exchanging some weird looks and wondered if she had done something to offend them. _Should I ask about it? Nah._ They might have _really_ gotten offended. But when they reached the sandy area, she changed her mind and crossed her arms.

"Natsu, Lucy… What's happened? Did I do something I shouldn't have?" asked the redhead, watching carefully the couple. They glanced at each other, but did not respond. "If yes, please, do punch me for my inconvenience."

"W-what? No, Erza… That's not it" sighed Lucy. "We just…"

"Why didn't you tell us that you're a model?!" cried Natsu, brandishing his camera.

Erza froze. "W-what? I'm not…"

"Your photos are all over internet" explained the blonde, thrusting the umbrella into the sand. They stopped near the water and started to prepare towels to lay on. "You know, you're dressed in a corset and other gothic clothing…"

A tight corset… A short, frilled skirt, high boots and heavy makeup… A ribbon in her hair and a forced smile on the streets of Magnolia… Strangers passing by and giving her various glances… And smiled and cheery Levy, jumping around with a camera and asking some random guy whether Erza had looked nice… Those were too familiar memories for her.

"Levy" hissed the interior designer, clamping her palms into the fists.

"What? So you don't deny it?" teased her Natsu, placing the camera on the towel prepared by Lucy and taking off his shirt. If she was not so angry, Erza would definitely gasp, seeing such a figure, but she was just too focused on explaining the truth to them.

"O-of course I do! One of my best friends is a photographer… She asked me to be her model this one time… She was supposed to keep them for herself… What do you mean: _they're all over the internet_?!" an aura around Erza started to change into the dark one. Her eyes squinted, the bangs flopped on her forehead and she looked just… _Monstrous_, thought Lucy.

"Hey, calm down…" mumbled Natsu, patting her on a shoulder. "Those are really good photos… And you look damn sexy on them."

"You're not really helping" said Erza with forced amenity.

"Oh? So maybe I will do some photos that you will be proud of showing to the world, huh?" Natsu grinned and took a first picture of her bitter face. "Come on, take off your clothes, girls, and let's get to work!"

Erza passed from the state of anger to complete shock. Really? That was his answer? Lucy seemed to notice her reaction, so she started to laugh and pulled Erza's blouse upwards, taking it off and showing a beautiful, fashionable bikini. "Woah" said Lucy, looking… Yeah. Erza was not sure if on her figure or the cloth. "You look… Hey!" the blonde shrieked and started to run away from the redhead, who tried to catch her and give a proper payback. The women ended up chasing each other – one without a blouse, and another with no skirt. Natsu was taking photos like crazy, which truly seemed professional.

"Lucy, give back my shirt!"

"With your shape? No way in hell!"

"LUCY!"

Erza finally managed to catch up to the blonde and doffed a shirt off her. The scarlet-haired woman inspected her friend. "See, you yourself are quite curvy…"

"You're one to talk" laughed Lucy, not a bit ashamed. "Natsu, can you stop taking our pictures like crazy? Come on and have some fun. Going to the water?" she turned to Erza.

"Sure!"

The women went back to put their lasting cloths and got closer to the water line. Erza dunked one of her feet in the sea and felt a shiver of pleasure. _Feels so good!_ She walked into the water without any hesitation, wetting her legs up to the thighs. Lucy followed her steps and they stood there for a moment, enjoying the touch of the water; although it was quite hot, it was still contrasting with temperature of the air. They both chatted for a while, until…

"A BOOOOOOOMB!" the blonde and the redhead heard, and when they turned around there was a dreadful vision – only seconds separated the women from Natsu bumping into them, and not even one 'Shit' was being said. There was no time.

Natsu attacked them at his full speed and embraced each one of them, abruptly jumping in the water. Erza felt the world spinning and then there was only blue, and her eyes were smarting. She did not have any air to breathe, so she fumbled and managed to stick her head out of the water, taking a deep breath of life. She turned to the guy who was dying from laughter and yelled: "NATSU!"

"Bwahahaha, girls, that was soooo funny! Let's do it once again!"

"Are you INSANE? You…" shouted Erza, spitting with water. That moment Lucy swam on the surface with a scary expression.

"Oups" the man murmured, and bit his bottom lip. Two females exchanged the looks and started scolding his stupidity and insanity. "H-hey, at least that was fun! Luce…" he swam to the blonde and hugged her whispering something. Erza stopped talking, left alone. Firstly, she was not sure what to do with herself, but since she had some time for herself, she should have just swum somewhere farther. She had always been good at swimming, in high school she was also the captain of the swimming team. _Well, so maybe I should go now…_she thought when Natsu kissed Lucy. She smirked and swam away.

Her hands were smoothly cutting the small waves while she was floating away, breathing with constant tempo. The wind was stronger with every move she made, and the strength of dragging in by the sea was exerting. However, the woman was swimming farther and farther. She looked under her – there was a deep dark depth. _It's not like I'm not used to the darkness_, she said to herself, but turned around and checked a distance from the land. She was far away, but not too far. Erza started to come back. It took her double energy and double strength to make the half of the way. Was it because of the dragging in, or the fact that her condition lowered dramatically? Well, whatever. That was not the time to think about it. She should have been focusing on breathing and the return on the beach.

After some wrestles with the waves and the sea currents she managed to get close enough to the beach to feel the sand under her feet. Panting, she went out of the water. The feeling of contracting when the salty water was drying on her overtook Erza, the same was with tiredness. She rocked, but made it to the towels. The woman fell on hers and stopped moving, excluding the heavy breathing which was accompanying her since she had gone out. _Geez, I'm that weak, aren't I… Pitiful,_ thought Scarlet.

"Are you all right? You look pale..." said Lucy who came out of the water after her. She was squeezing the water out of her hair, looking at Erza with worry. "I don't think going that far was wise."

"Well, I am now" replied the lying woman, opening one of her brown eyes. "Sorry to make you worry. I wanted to check my condition out, that's all… No need to worry, Lucy."

"I see. Well, be careful, because if you drown, Natsu'll die out of sorrow – he's not gonna do the photos"

"I thought he already took them" said Erza with rose elbow. "Didn't he?"

"That was not the session he wanted to have. They were just mementos."

"Got it. So the worst is not over yet" she smirked and rolled on the stomach. Unfortunately, the towel she was laying on was too narrow and she ended up cover in the sand from her feet to the head. "Damn!"

"Go and wash yourself" laughed Lucy, placing herself on her own cloth with carefulness.

"I'll be right back" mumbled Erza and stood up. She tried to shake tiny specks out of her, but ended up scratching herself. With a sigh she moved to the water, but even the liquid itself could not help her – the salt in the water made it stick to her body. With an expression full of desperation and determination she begun to excise the affixed particles. The woman looked down on her bikini and growled. Fantastic. She had to make the intruder grit disappear from there, too. And from the panties as well. "Sure, I love the beach" she muttered with annoyance.

Erza went into the deeper water and tried to make the bra stay on her at the same time with tasking the sand out. After a few moment she heard a chuckle. With a blush on her cheeks, Erza looked up and found the blue-haired man from before watching her struggle with washing up. His face was turned to her by a right profile, so she could not even tell how he looked like. Her blood pressure increased and her mouth opened to say something, but the man did not wait for that and… And simply just swam away. The redhead froze in one pose, looking after him with confused thoughts inside her head. _What was that?! And why does he chuckle on me? Am I that laughable?_ Thought Erza with precariousness. _Or was it because saw me…?_ She struggled. _No, no, no, no, no, no way. He wouldn't seem so amused, rather ashamed, right…?_

She quickly finished her doing and went back to her towel, which was then almost dry. The sun was strong and she decided to use some suntan cream not to get red or to scald hard. Erza looked at Lucy. "Want some?"

"Nah, Natsu took care of me and creamed my back" she answered.

"Okay" said Erza and when she finished covering her skin with the substance, she lied down next to Lucy, undoing the bikini's bra kink and sliding both parts of the knot to her back's sides.

"Erza, are you going with us on tonight's party in the hotel? I've heard there is some dancing" said Lucy, turning her head to look at the friend.

"Oh, I don't know… You see, I don't want to be a burden or something. You came here with Natsu, right? And I interrupt you all the time" told her Erza, staring her straight in the eyes.

"My dear. You think that you bother me? Or Natsu? But you're so much fun, plus you're all alone… Come with us. We love spending time with you" almost shouted the blonde, looking almost hurt.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am!"

"Then, okay" declared the redhead, smiling slightly. Lucy winked at her and returned to her original position. Erza remained the same, watching the people walking alongshore. Most of them were tourists, it was easy to tell by the color of their skin. And right after them… The sea and the sky were fusing into one on the horizon, disturbed only by the yellowish color of the ground. The water was getting darker every meter farther. The picture was purely stunning. And the blue element, turquoise-like… Wait, what? Here should not have been any turquoise-like things, unless… Erza gasped, torn away from her bucolic mood. It was HIM. Again. Passing by her, looking into the sky… Or so she thought, because he was wearing sunglasses and it was hard to be exact. With a little smile on his lips, and hands in the pockets. Many women who were walking next to him turned around, and there were impressed women's eyes everywhere, but he did not seem interested. Scarlet eyed him up and down. _Now, that's some perfect figure…_ Ideal proportions of his head, neck, muscular torso going smoothly down, crowned with a washboard abs… Goodness. What was she thinking about? She did not even know how his face looked like, not to mention the man himself. Still, Erza watched as the breeze played with his hair and how he sighed heavily right before moved forward.

_Let him be_, she told herself. _He's not a person who you need to care about too much and worry 'bout his problems. Right?_ Even though Erza tried to convince herself, she could not stop thinking that she was not the only person quite lonely and totally on her own there.

* * *

Natsu had decided that he was not going to take any professional photos that day. He had told them that the light is too weak even though the sunlight was really strong and the girls did not have good outfits to fill his vision. Lucy ended up saying 'sorry, sorry!' to Erza whenever the man had left their side, plus she got scalded on her back – especially the parts where there was kink – and also the buttocks were smarting and were the exact color of her hair.

Still, the beach trip was fantastic for Erza and she was truly happy to have friends like that. The couple – to Erza's approval – had also found the way to get them some time alone; when she stayed on the towel, they went to swim and when she was in the water, the couple was splitting or behaving quite well. Later, the trio went to sit over the pools and drink some cocktails the Spanish were carrying them. Erza learned a new word: _encantada_, when Lucy met her friend who did not speak any other language than Spanish and Erza had to introduce herself. Of course, the redhead would not have been herself if she had not had any adventure or embarrassing action.

It had happened when she had announced she was to go to the toilet and had refused Lucy's company. She had seen how much they had wanted to stay together. Erza had walked away and had found the place. Everything had seemed to be fine to the moment she had started getting back to their place and… Had realized she had had no idea where to go. The woman had pretended to walk around the pools and watch the surroundings, but in fact she had been searching for her friends. Unfortunately, she had not been focused enough on her road and had bumped into someone.

"Uh! _P-perdone_…" she had said, covering her mouth with a palm.

"_¡No hay problema!_" had laughed the man – Spanish, how it had turned out – and had glanced at her. _"¡Vaya! ¡Eres guapa! ¿Quieres salir de noche conmigo? ¿Qué dices?6_"

"_Umm… No en… No en… tego… No… __No entendido!7_" she had answered, completely lost. She had forgotten the word and had tried to memorize it. Fortunately, the man had caught the idea behind her stammering and had smirked.

"_Ay,__quieres decir: ¿no entiendes?8_**"**

"_Sí, no entiendes!9_" had replied Erza with relief.

"_¡No, no, yo entiendo, pero tú no!_**10**" the man had laughed once again, and she had felt confused. Had there been something wrong with her answer? He had corrected her, so it should have been okay...

"_No entiendes?_**11**"

"_Cariño, tú no me entiendes... __Ayayay. Vale. Así, ¡hasta luego!_**12****"** he had winked at her and had gone away, leaving Erza stunned. She had not known if she should have laughed or should have hidden somewhere no one could have found her. Especially when she had realized one of the people who had been watching that show had been HIM.

She had sighed and had moved forward. That was great that she had made all those people's day. Just fan-ta-stic.

At that moment she was sitting with Natsu and Lucy, waiting in the huge parlor. It was decorated in a typical disco way – adapted to the tourists' taste. A huge disco ball was hanging from the ceiling. A parquet was empty since no music was playing yet. There were many people, mostly the hotel guests, but some Spanish were to be found as well.

After some time, while Erza and the couple were talking vigorously, the lights were turned down and the music started. But it was not the beat Erza had been expecting to hear – it was so much… Different. Especially when she realized that the music was in Spanish.

"Yay!" cried Lucy, jumping. "This is salsa! Natsu, this is the real salsa!"

"Salsa?" asked Erza, confused, obviously thinking about sauces.

"Yeah, one of this country's dances" explained Natsu. "Don't tell me you don't know how to salsa?"

"N-no…"

"Okay, there's no way I'm leaving you here alone even for a moment when you don't know the basic steps! Come on, let's go" Lucy took her hand and pulled. There was no other choice than to go after the overly excited blonde. "Look! Stand like this… Left leg goes forward, take your weight on it, then return the heaviness on the right leg and repeat – but backwards and with the other leg…! It's easy!"

"Lucy, once again?" asked the redhead.

"And your hips go like this…" the blonde swayed her hips and stood right in front of Erza. "Now, let's dance together! I will take your hips for you to catch on."

She put her hands on Erza's sides and nodded to show her when to start. It was not too hard, but the interior designer was sometimes losing the tempo. Especially when Lucy's hands were pushing her hips into making hard eights. "I-is it okay?"

"Nice! Now, let's see how will you make it with a real partner" laughed Lucy and let her go. She did not even have a chance to say "_Wait_!'. Erza stayed in the middle of the parquet, looking lost, until some blonde guy did not approach her, asking to dance with him. She smiled shyly and mumbled "Okay."

"Try holding your hands rigid when we're holding together" said the man. "And try to be in thrall to me. Let me lead you. By the way, I'm Marty."

"Erza" answered the woman, too focused on the dance steps. "Nice to meet you."

"Where are you from?"

"Japan! And you?"

"America" said the blond, making her spin twice. "Woah, nice moves! Have you been dancing in pairs earlier?"

"No, not at all. I am a complete newbie. My friend just taught me the basics" she explained and Marty laughed.

"I see, so that's why you're so open to my suggestions in dancing."

She could only smile and centered on the steps not to tread on her dancing partner. The song finished and the American thanked her for her time. Erza hoped to sneak out of the dance floor but, unfortunately, the next man came and asked her to dance with him. She just could not have said no, could she?

He was a French who did not speak neither Japanese nor English so they had not been talking at all. Later she was dancing with a few other guys, and when the DJ made a short break to shout something, she finally made it to the table where Lucy was resting on Natsu's lap.

"You! Remind me to kill you tomorrow for teaching me salsa and leaving in the middle of the dance floor alone" the crimsonhead pointed her finger out on smiling Lucy. "Tomorrow 'cause I'm dying right now."

"Hahah, Erza, you're welcome" she winked at her and took care of Natsu. Erza sighed and sat down. The music started again, and she had no will to go and dance again. Luckily, the mobile phone she had in her skirt's pocket vibrated and she stood up, taking it out. The number was Gray's.

"Sorry, guys, I'll be right back" she said, showing them the ringing phone. They nodded.

Erza ran out of the crowded and loud area on a terrace. The phone absorbed her attention that much that she did not notice the blue-haired man who started approaching her, but when the woman sprung up, he stopped and changed the original destination of his acting and came to sit at the bar. Some giggling girls came to him and tried to convince him to go and dance with them, but he refused, watching the scarlet-haired girl walking out on the terrace.

Meanwhile, "Yes? Gray?" asked Erza when she picked up the phone.

"H-hey, Erza! How are you?" said the brunet's voice.

"Gray! So nice to hear you, I missed you!"

"You did?"

"Sure, you're my best friend, right?" she chuckled and went on. "Gray, it's so amazing here! The green and the beach, and the temperature, the sun is shining with such a beautiful light, so different than in Japan.."

"Sounds awesome. Especially when we have heavy rain today" he told her.

"Really? Then I'm even more sorry that you're so far away!"

"See. That's the thing. You're too far away, Er. Hey, by the way, tell me" he started, playing with words and she could imagine him smiling in that special way of his, reserved only for the teasing-time. "You do socialize a bit, don't you?"

"How rude" she exclaimed. "Of course I do! I have two friends already, I'm never alone…"

"Some nice girls?"

"No, a girl and a guy" from the other side she heard him hiss. "What?"

"Don't like that guy already."

"Don't be like that. He's a nice man, a bit idiotic but still… I think in many ways he resembles you" she said with a smirk.

"Now, you're the one being rude! Idiotic – like me?"

"You said it yourself" she laughed. Gray seemed to loosen up bit and also giggled. Erza started to tell him about the hotel and the people, and he listened, sometimes interjecting. When she finished, he sighed.

"You know, I feel a bit lonely without you."

"But it's been one day, Gray."

"Exactly. And there are some more… You know what" Gray almost whispered and Erza bit her lip. _No, please, don't say that… You promised you wouldn't push me with my answer_… "I really miss you."

"Gray…"

"Well, then" he cleared his throat and said louder. "I must go. I'll call ya tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, anytime. Please, hug and kiss Cana and tell Levy she's already dead from me."

"Don't get mad, Erza. She did well with those photos. I myself have some in my room already…"

"Idiot!" she smirked. "Bye, then."

"Take care."

Erza hung up and looked at the sea. Was that the time to think about Gray at all, his feelings, her feelings and especially the answer to his confession? She brooded for some time, at last, she shook her head. No. Definitely no. She was not ready for that kind of face-off. That needed to wait.

She readjusted her skirt, redid her ponytail and with a slight smile returned on the parquet, where she had no problem to find a dancing partner for a few songs. She decided to dance away all the worries tonight – to her great surprise, it worked perfectly.

* * *

**¹**_Hello! Can I clean the table?_

**²**_Not yet, [do it] when we will finish, okay?_

**³** _Sure, bon appétit!_

**4**No, thanks, it's too early.

**5**Nice to meet you.

**6**No problem! Come on, now, you're pretty! Do you want to go somewhere with me this night? So, what you say?

**7**blahblah Not clever!

**8**You wanted to say that: I don't understand?

**9**Yes, you don't understand!

**10** No, no, I understand, but you don't!

**11**You don't?

**12**Honey, it's you who don't understand me… Ayayay. Okay. See you later, then!

* * *

**I am the dumbest person in the world. Seriously, I mean it. I was writing about Granada, right? But I had Malaga in mind… Granada's not by the sea xD Ahahah! Please, do punch me for my inconvenience, as Erza would have said xD**

**Anyway. Thank you so much for every review, favorite and follow. ****You inspire me and I love you all:)**

**Any suggestions or criticism? Please, put it in the review if you want to:)**


	4. Four

**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Four.**

* * *

The next day, although it had been very similar to the first one, to Erza it had seemed completely different and amazing. She just could not have had enough of the beach and the sea. Even the sand was not as annoying as during the first close contact. There had been only one difference, because at night Natsu had called a taxi and had taken the women downtown. Erza, who had never been abroad before was watching every fragment of the town with eyes wide opened, noticing every interesting or extraordinary detail, especially the people who were behaving so differently. The first thing she noticed was that everybody simply stare at all the people – known by them or not. It amazed her. But what made her really impressed was that every person she had seen or met was behaving like he was the most sympathetic person in the world.

After the long walk through the city and looking for places to visit someday, Natsu brought them to some bar, where – as he had said – there was the best beer he had ever tried. He ordered _tres cañas_ which turned out to be small barrel beer in glass. Erza was sitting and drinking it with small sips. Natsu and Lucy were talking about some professional matters, and she was not really catching up to them. When one of them turned to her, waiting for a nod or vigorous '_sure!_', she disappointed them with a lack of enthusiasm.

"Erza, come on, you know something about it, too" said Natsu with a grin, emptying his glass. "Okay, if you don't want to talk with us 'bout it, we'll change the topic for ya."

"You don't need to" Erza shook her head, smiling. "Really, if that's something you need to talk about, please go on."

"We can talk it over later" exclaimed Lucy with blushed cheeks. "Really. So, what'd you say on a trip tomorrow, Erza?"

"Trip? Where?"

"What about going to Granada. It's a city of Andalusia. There are some things we're longing to see" explained Lucy. The next moment she smiled, turned around to the waiter going beside and said. "_Camarero, tres cañas más, por favor_**¹**_._"

"_Inmediatamente_**²**."

"So, what do you thing? There is an Islamic palace, Alhambra, and we really want to visit Generalife Gardens! What's more, we've heard that Granada's really nice town to explore in the evening" added Lucy.

"Well, I don't mind at all" replied Erza. "Sightseeing is a great thing to do, so let's go!"

"Yeah" chuckled Natsu. "And that way we won't get tired of the beach."

Erza was really excited to see more of the splendid country. She had found it amazing so far, though she did not mind neither travelling nor going to the beach. Either way was fine with her. The waiter brought them their beers and the three of them rose the glasses into the toast. "For our tomorrow's trip!"

* * *

They went back to the hotel about four in the morning, drunk and tired. Under the circumstances they decided that their trip must have waited till the next day, or even another. Erza went into her room and threw herself on the bed, fully dressed and with make-up. She fell asleep almost straight away, and in her dreams there were some high, dark figures chasing her. Later on the dream turned into a lovely one, with much of the sun and palms in which she recognized the familiar beach. There was no one at the beach, except for her and… A man. A man with blue hair who was standing his back to her, looking at the sea and not moving. When she approached him, reached her arm to touch his shoulder and spoke up, and he finally started to turn around, just when she felt a shiver of excitement because of the final chance to see his face – the dream ended and there was nothing at all.

Maybe that was the reason why Erza woke up with bitter thoughts and a feeling of chagrin, or it was just the result of the previous day's drinking at the bar with Natsu and Lucy; just a mere hangover. Anyway, the redhead's head was so heavy and full of noise that she moaned while standing up. That was going to be a hard day...

She moved to the bath and took a long shower which made her feel a bit better. She let her hair dry themselves in the hot air – probably because she could not have stood the noise of a hair dryer. She looked at the clock – it was already one o'clock! _Goodness, how long has it been since I slept like this? _She wondered. Erza had four hours till the meal, a dinner mixed with supper, so she decided to go and sit at the balcony. She dragged a deckchair to the sun and took off everything, staying only in her underwear. She did not even care. Besides, underwear was something really similar to the swimsuit, and her black set looked as a real bikini. Finally, that was _her_ terrace and she was not to be bothered by other people. Erza put herself on it and sighed.

However, after a while she decided to go to the beach to have some refreshing time. There was nothing more annoying to her than sitting at one place and doing nothing at all. At the beach there was at least something to watch and to do… _Yes! That's it, I'll train! And get back in shape, improve my condition.. That's what I need now._ Erza stood up, changed into swimsuit – her precious underwear would get destroyed by the salt – and went out. She answered on _Buenos días_ of the receptionist and left the hotel. Over the pool there were many people, making so much noise she barely held her desire to escape. Finally, the peaceful… Okay. More peaceful area, because the huge expanse was dispersing any joyful shouts and laugh of people. The sea was resounding with its waves hitting the ground.

_Yeah. That's what I needed today_, thought Erza with a slight smile. She put a towel on the ground and lied down on it. _I have some time, no need to hurry._ Besides, it would have been even better if she rested a bit. On the second thought, though, her ambition and longing for exercise won. The redhead stood up and moved to the sea. The water calmed her down, and made vigorous. The headache was not important anymore, it almost disappeared. She saw a bunch of rocks far away. _Fine_, she told herself with a smirk. _That's just a bit further distance than the one on the first day, I can do it._ Erza entered the deeper water and started to move. At first, Erza swam with a constant tempo, moving her arms and legs in perfect harmony. The aim was getting closer, but it was not fast enough for her. Consequently, she speeded up. The waves were rather large that day and it took double patience and time to go the distance she had made the day before. Finally, the rocks got closer – just a few more moves and she would be there… _Yes!_ She made it, and sat at them with a smile. Ergo she did it. Erza took a deep breath. Air was definitely colder and more salty there, the same went for water. The rock she was sitting at was cold and slippery, covered in green lichen. _Ew_.

The woman examined the distance and the area she had to go again, that time backwards. There were no people close to her, the first head over the water she saw seemed to be far away. Going back… It would be harder than the previous one, especially when the wind was stronger and was blowing into the sea. What was more, the sea was sucking everything inside powerfully. And that was the moment Erza understood her stupidity. She was weakened by the alcohol. Which meant her condition was in a bad state as well. Moreover, there was not a big chance of her making it to the shore so easily and without taking any risk. Still, she had to go back. The redhead started to freeze and tremble under the cold air blows.

Erza went back to the cold water and hissed. Well, there was no time to waste. She started moving in the land's direction, making her moves stronger. However, the waves were retracting her body like it was nothing. The woman started to fear when she turned her head to see how much she had traveled, finding the rocks nearby. Erza braced her muscles and put even more effort into escaping. She succeeded in going half of the way when it happened.

Even at the beginning there was a slight pain in her leg, but she overlooked it. And right then her leg stopped moving, caught in a contortion. _Just great_. The only solution was to dig something sharp into the muscle to send it a stimulus. There was no time to stretch it. Her hands moved quickly to the bra to find a safety pin which she had always had with herself. Nonetheless, when her fingers ran through it, Erza's expression begun to change into terrify and horror. Needless to say there was no safety pin anywhere on her. _No way…_ She must have taken it out someday, probably because she was washing the swimsuit… So that was it. She could not move anymore. The sharp stitch was preventing her from even trying.

Erza decided to yell for help. There must have been someone close enough to help her, she had seen someone from the rocks! But it turned out to be another mistake – a bigger wave covered her head and she drank much of the salty water. She started to cough and choke, she saw nothing because of the salt in her eyes. Cold and in panic, she was slowly stopping her endeavors to stay over the water. Another wave made it and she begun to slowly drown, pain consuming her leg, various thoughts in her mind, seeing for the last time faces of her best friends…

And then she lost consciousness.

* * *

That was supposed to be a peaceful, lazy day for him, just the same as it had been for over a month lately. Breakfast, during which he would not even bother to observe the people (after such a long time, they were all boring and the same to him). Later he would go to the beach and would spend there almost the whole day, wondering around and swimming in the sea. Just a mere day, nothing special.

He arrived to the beach quite early and started reading a book. There was no one to bother him – except a few groups of girls, not even women yet! They came, as every day, asking him to join them in the water and later at the picnic. But he knew they were attracted to him only because of his looks and… _Well, let's face the facts here. Popularity. _Those were the main reasons. He was clearly aware of that, he was not a fool.

It was true that women were amazed by the original color of his hair, which was blue. Some of them even asked which hair dye he was using. That annoyed him. A lot. However, it was even worse with his tattoo. They were praising it and he was smiling, because what else could he do? They had no idea, why there was such a thing on his face. They had no idea… About his darkness.

The man sighed and sat down, putting the book aside. Just in time to see that crimson-haired woman stepping on the sand with a funny expression. He gazed at her with interest. He had heard her opinions on the matters of relations between people. He must have admitted that she impressed him. Especially when he realized her believes are similar to his own. At least on that matter.

Anyway, the woman was behaving strangely, like she did not know what she wanted. He frowned a bit. _¿De verdad?_ That one, behaving so strangely? Moreover, her sudden getting up and rushing to the water did not settle down his surprise. She had not been acting like that earlier. He was sure of it. The man rolled his eyes and stood up himself, making a decision to follow her to the water, just in case of any help needed.

And he was right. He was damn right about going after the strangely-behaving woman! He watched her reaching the rocks, and later trying to escape. He saw the change on her face and sudden disappearance. _Fuck_, he thought. Luckily he had such an athletic body and was able to reach the place the crimson-haired female faded away. He thanked goodness for all the training his profession was making him to do and took a deep breath, then dived. His eyes hurt as he opened them up in the water, straying them to see the woman. _Yes!_ He sound her and moved quickly to her. She was not moving anymore, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. The man caught her arms and pulled up to get access to her waist. It was much easier to hold her like that, and his brain started demanding fresh air. There was no more of it in his lungs. He barely made it. His head cut the tile and he took a breath in the nick of time.

At the beach there was no one who had noticed something extraordinary. The blue-haired man had to take the woman all the way to the ground himself. Panting, he rushed out of the water and put her on the sand. She was not breathing. The bluenet shoved aside wet hair from her face, tilted her head and leaned over her, encompassing her mouth with his, forcing his breathe into her.

He had never done a real CPR before, so he feared he was doing something wrong since there was no reaction. Finally, when he desperately blew one last time, the woman started to cough and a small fountain came out of her mouth. The bluenet quickly turned her around for she could spit out all the water. She collapsed, out of breath and strength, panting. He sat beside, relieved.

"_Señorita, señorita, ¿estás bien?_**³**"

"W-hat…" he heard her small voice and hardly recognized the word.

"Uh, sorry. Are you okay?" he asked in English with worry.

"… Than… kyo… u…" she coughed and fainted.

The man sighed with relief and got up. He looked at the woman with thoughtfulness. _So she thanked me even though she's almost dead… What a spirit._ The man lifted her bridal style and turned to the hotel.

* * *

The first thing Erza felt was a sore throat. She frowned in her sleep when a pain in her head joined the feeling of being run over by a tank. She tried to say something, but nothing came on her dry lips. Erza moved and opened her eyes.

The redhead almost yelled – or she would have done that if she could have – when she discovered herself in an unknown room, in a bed and with a sitting man it the corner of the area, clearly asleep in an armchair. She stared at him. It was the man who was stalking her in a dream and in reality. He was wearing trousers and a half-clinging T-shirt with a V-neck. But there was something else that caught her attention. Blue hair were falling on a handsome, manly face. He had a crimson red tattoo around his right eye, coming through the whole cheek. She found it amusing. _Oh, wow. He's beautiful…_ She face-palmed herself. What was she even thinking about. However, she had a feeling she had seen him somewhere before. Where could have that been… Well, that was not the time to think about it. Not with the giant headache she had right then.

Erza moaned when she laid down again. At that moment the bluenet opened his eyes, yawning. He looked at her and smiled a little. "Oh, you're awake, miss."

"Where…" she started, but a horrible hoarseness came out of her. She blushed and cleared her throat. "Where am I?"

"In my room. You're finally awake, I was truly worried, miss…" he hung his voice and rose one of his brows.

"Erza Scarlet."

"_Yo me llamo_**⁴**... Um. I'm Jellal Fernandes" he said quietly. He had a nice baritone which calmed her down. "Excuse me. I rarely communicate _en inglés_**⁵**."

"What's happened?"

"Miss Scarlet, you… Nearly drowned" Jellal said, looking at her. Erza felt a huge piece of ice going inside of her body. "And I happened to be just at right time to help you."

"You rescued me, Mr. Fernandes' she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "Thank you so much, I… I can't ever repay you… I…"

"Please, don't mention it. I was just in the right place to help" he told her and nodded his head delicately. "Your things that were at the beach… I took them to the reception and they should be there. Unless the lady sent it to your room. And as for you… You should rest, Miss Scarlet. You've had a hard day."

"Y-yes… Mr. Fernandes?"

"_¿Sí_**⁶**_?_"

"N-no, nothing… I guess I will sleep a bit" she said rapidly and closed her eyes, covering her face under the quilt. _Please, don't let him see the blush!_ She was praying.

Jellal smiled and crossed his arms. He had been guarding his guest for some time by then and he became hungry. It had been a few hours already. He stood up and walked to the phone, to order dinner to his room for him and Erza. _Erza Scarlet, huh… Nice name. She's Japanese, right? _The man peeked at the redhead who fell asleep. Her face was peaceful and beautiful, but it was not the thing that made Jellal interested in her… _Madre mía_**⁷**_, there really is something in that woman._

"Reception here, how can I help you?"

"Hello. Dinner for two people to the room of Jellal Fernandes. Please, bring it in an hour" he asked politely.

"Fernandes-sama! O-of course!" the receptionist sounded shocked and hung up. The man sighed and got back to his place. His guest took the bed, so apart from the armchair there was really nothing more to take a nap at in that room. Jellal smiled when he looked once again at Erza. _I guess I'll go and take a nap in the salon. I don't need to guard her, after all…_ The bluenet nodded and left the bedroom.

His hotel room was much bigger than Erza's or even Natsu's and Lucy's. There were three – including a bathroom, four – rooms: a bedroom, a kitchen and a salon. It was an apartment. Jellal shook his head when he remembered how much he had wanted to live in a small room like most of the guests, not there, and how the hotel's service had told him it had not suited his position and reputation. He smirked and sat on the sofa. Jellal took the blanket at lied down, covering himself and closing his eyes. The doorbell should wake him up, no need to set the alarm clock.

Although he had one hour, to Jellal it seemed that when he closed his eyes the doorbell rang straight off. He got up and came to the door. There was a young maid with a trolley and a dinner on it. She looked nervous.

"_A-aj, buenas noches, señor Fernandes, ¿ha ordenado la comida hace un rato?_**⁸**"

"_Claro, muchas gracias. Mira, perdone, pero ¿puede traer una botella del vino para nosotros? Y un poco de zumo de naranja, por favor_**⁹**" he asked and smiled stunningly. The maid blushed and answered:

"_Sí, no hay problema_.**¹°**"

She disappeared and left Jellal at the door. He pulled the trolley inside and checked everything on it. Then he looked at the clock and decided to wake up Erza.

The bluenet moved to the bedroom and knocked on the door, just in case she had woken up herself and not to scare her – but there was no answer. Jellal pushed the door and went in. He could hardly see anything in the darkness and bumped into something, which turned out to be an armchair. He rolled his eyes and focused. "Um, Miss Scarlet?" No answer. He sighed and leaned over her, touching her shoulder with his hand. "Miss Scarlet, I'm sorry, but I ordered dinner and you should eat something."

Erza mumbled something and tried to get rid of his hand. He held her and came closer. "Miss Scarlet, please, wake up!" he shook her shoulder, causing her to open up her eyes. She turned on her back and looked straight into the face of Jellal. She wide opened her eyes and blushed. Jellal quickly backed away, perplexed. "Um, I'm sorry, but I had difficulties with waking you up, Miss Scarlet."

"Oh… Okay. W-well" she coughed and felt a horrible dryness in her throat. "I'm really sorry to disturb you, Mr. Fernandes."

"Not at all" Erza held her breath when he smiled at her. _Oh, sweet Mavis_… That was something called a perfect smile! She was ready to do anything he asked her for, so when he told her about the dinner, she agreed to eat with him.

"Besides, I cannot say nor do anything to repay you, Mr. Fernandes" the redhead added shyly.

"Please, don't mention it, Miss Scarlet. I'm happy I made it in time…" Then the doorbell rang again and he turned around. "Please, make yourself comfortable while I'll be taking our order. I presume you won't refuse something to drink?"

Erza could only smile and watch as he was leaving the bedroom. What was that with him? Mr. Fernandes was caring and mannerly, not to mention good-natured. How lucky she had been to have him nearby… And, what was more, how terribly stupid she had been. Although she clearly should not have gone into the water and swim that far, she had done so because of her ambition. Erza had almost drowned. What a fool. What an idiot. And what a shame…

"Miss Scarlet? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm coming…" she stopped short, realizing that she was just in her bikini and had nothing more on her. "Um. Mr. Fernandes… I'm sorry, but I have no clothes…"

"Oh." There was a short pause and Jellal cleared his throat before saying "Then wait a moment, I'll lend you my shirt."

"Oh, there's no need, I can go and change…" Erza said quickly, but the door of the bedroom she was in opened and the man crossed the room to reach the wardrobe. He took out a buttoned shirt and put it on the bed, not looking at the redhead. Then he left her with red cheeks. She took a deep breath and reached for the shirt. It smelled nicely, of a man. Erza put it on – it hid three-four of her tights. _Well, at least I won't be eating with nothing more than bikini_, she thought and almost laughed.

Erza went out and smirked when she saw full table of food and Jellal pouring the wine. He stopped and gazed at her with question. "Nothing, I'm sorry."

"That's all right" he said quietly and rolled her chair back. She sat down, nicely amazed. _What a gentleman!_ "I also apologize for making you eat with a complete stranger…"

"Who only saved my life" the redhead added.

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't change the fact we're strangers" he stared at her intensively. Erza did not really know what to do, so she reached for the glass of wine. He followed her steps and took his as well. "So, what are we dinking for?"

"Maybe for the new acquaintance?" she proposed.

"Yes… For the new relationship" Jellal smiled amazingly – he seemed to have never realized how beautiful was his smile – and tapped her glass. They drank some liquid, which the woman found very good. "So, Miss Scarlet, would you mind telling me more about yourself?"

"W-well" she started a bit shyly, taking some potatoes on her plate and passing them to the man. This was definitely funny, the situation she was in. "What would you like to know?"

"At the beginning… What do you do?" Jellal took the potatoes, but did not turn his sight from her, wanting to notice every little detail.

"I'm an interior designer in a corporation of Evergreen in Magnolia" answered the redhead, taking a bite of a dish in front of her. She was ravening, and delicious food did not help her hide it. She swallowed and added: "And now I'm having my first holiday."

"First?" the bluenet rose his brow. "So how long have you been working there? You've started recently?"

"No! I'm at the company for over five years" denied Erza. Jellal frowned and stopped eating. He could not understand this and asked her to explain. "I love my job. I'm a type of a worker who spends many hours at her bureau, doing stuff."

"What about your private life?"

"Oh, apart from my three best friends I have nothing to do" she said with care. "They're my whole world right now. Along with the job."

"I see" he murmured and fell silent for some time. Erza was left to enjoy her dinner at peace for some time before another question was asked. 'Miss Scarlet, and why Spain?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you come to Spain" Mr. Fernandes repeated.

"No particular reason, I think" she took a nip of wine. "I like it here, and since there was an offer like that…"

"Do you speak Spanish?" the man asked and braced himself on his arms on the table.

"No. My friend taught me only some useful words and a few phrases, but I never really tried to learn the language" Erza smiled. She lowered her head and gazed at him across the table from that position. "And what about you, Mr. Fernandes?"

"What do you mean?" Jellal asked, suddenly looking nervous. The redhead noticed that his hands clenched.

"What do you do? I have a strange impression I've seen you somewhere" she chuckled.

The bluenet scrutinized her before answering slowly with slight blush. "I'm a model."

Erza froze and opened her chocolate eyes. "R-really" she faltered and decided not to pretend. She face-palmed herself and turned red. "I'm sorry, I'm dumb. I should have know, shouldn't I?"

"N-no, no, Miss Scarlet, please" to her surprise, Jellal seemed to be as anxious as her. He held his hands in front of his chest in defending position. "Don't apologize, it's ridiculous. In fact, I'm kind of glad you didn't realize who I was…"

Erza, who was to put her hand on her cheek suddenly changed the direction of her hand and giggled nervously. She flicked her hair. "I don't understand."

He sighed. "I know, but please don't let it occupy you" the bluenet smiled again and she subconsciously relaxed. "So, yes, I'm a model. And I think you have something to do with that profession as well, am I mistaken?"

"Oh, no! Don't tell me, Mr. Fernandes, that you saw the pictures in the internet as well" she moaned and shut her eyes. "I had no idea that my friend would put them there. I only wanted to help her, but I never imagined…"

"H-hey, Miss Scarlet, but they were quite good" said Jellal, confused. _So, she didn't like the profession, after all…? And I thought that every woman'd be delighted to become that popular…_ He sighed and added. "Besides, it's me who doesn't understand you."

"Ah" she exclaimed and fell silent for a moment. "Sorry, I am too spontaneous and sometimes become very talkative when something worries me" Erza drank some wine and explained as good as she could have her point of view, that she was not looking for popularity and it was rather embarrassing for her to find herself on the internet.

The man was amazed and felt even more fascinated by the crimson-haired woman in front of him. She was a total opposite of anything he had thought of women. He believed that they were looking only for handsome men – only for their looks, even if they would be the worst bastards it would not matter. Not only did Erza seem to pay attention to the character of people, but she also was not looking for men at all. Jellal thought the women wanted to be famous and popular no matter what – and there was Miss Scarlet in front of him, saying a complete inverse. _How amusing…_

"Tell me, Miss Scarlet" he asked out of blue. "You're from Japan?"

"Yes" she blinked and gave him an attentive look. "From Magnolia. Why do you ask?"

"Magnolia" he sighed unexpectedly and chuckled. "Because I was born there."

"R-really?!" she exclaimed. "I thought…"

"I'm half-Japanese, half-Spanish. My mother was Spanish, and I really like it here" the bluenet noticed both of them had finished their wine and got up to pour some more. Erza nodded with gratefulness. Her throat was still dry.

"I see" she commented politely.

"I haven't been in Magnolia for a very long time."

"Well, if you have such conditions" she winked and flushed. _Maybe I shouldn't be so familiar with him?_ She thought, worried, but Jellal did not seem to be offended in any way.

"Exactly" he laughed quietly, making his baritone vibrate in the room. He caught a glimpse of their full glasses of wine and took his. "Now, let's drink for our meeting!"

"Here is to you, Mr. Fernandes!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"And to you, Miss Scarlet" he smiled shyly_. I'm really glad I met her_. "I hope we will get to know each other better."

Erza was thinking exactly the same thing, so she chuckled before drinking. They almost finished the meal by then and the woman remembered something. "Mr. Fernandes, I'll return the money to you tomorrow, because now I don't even have my own clothes on myself… Is that okay?"

"What money?" Jellal frowned.

"You ordered the dinner, right?" she asked and when he nodded, she went on. "So I'm obviously going to pay my share."

"No, no, please, Miss Scarlet, there's no need to…"

"I insist!"

"Look" he sighed and decided to be honest. "That would make sense – and also only if I were rude enough – if I was to pay anything."

"W-what do you mean?" now it was Erza's brows which went together.

"You don't pay here. Neither do I."

"But why!"

"Because" Jellal made a wry face and looked straight at her, saying slowly every word, like he did not want to do it. "the hotel, and many other hotels in Spain… They all belong to me. And my family."

She nodded and drank some wine from her glass. Unfortunately, it was exactly in the middle of a nip when the meaning of the words reached her brain and Erza chocked with the liquid. Jellal Fernandes was watching the woman in silence and when the attack passed, he waited for her to say something. How surprised he was when Erza muttered only "Oups."

"Oups?"

"Y-yeah… I'm sorry, I mean, I should probably treat you more formally and according to…" she blabbed, with every word turning redder and being more ashamed, but stopped when she saw the look on the bluenet's face.

"Miss Scarlet. I don't mind at all" he told her with abrupt and surprising determination. "I'm really tired of all the people treating me like a better person than them, and…" Jellal hissed. That was not what he wanted to say. He hid his face in his hands and fell silent. Something so personal should not be revealed on the first meeting. _Idiot_. However, he dropped those thoughts when he felt a warm palm on his shoulder. Jellal wondered and stared straight into the face of Erza who was standing close to him with understanding expression. "M-miss Scarlet?"

"We all know some heaven colored by the light, but also the darkness. It's not something to be ashamed of. We're only people" she said with absolute seriousness and smiled at him. "The most important thing is to remain yourself. Especially when the people telling us that stuff don't know a thing about us." Erza thought about something, hesitated, but finished. "I know it's hard. More than ever if we're all alone."

The bluenet was gaping at the woman in a great amazement. Erza nodded and took her hand away. She had finished eating and had wanted to spend some more time with the man, but after checking the hour she told him she must go. Jellal nodded and stood up.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Fernandes. For… Oh. It's such a cliché, but for everything. I hope we'll see each other tomorrow" Erza smiled and looked at the shirt she was wearing. "Oh. On the second thought, though, we will. Definitely. I'll have to give the shirt back."

"And that's the only reason you want to see me?" Jellal asked jokingly.

"O-of course not… Uh… I mean… What I want to say is… Ough." She shook her head and shut her eyes. Jellal chuckled. "Anyway. See you tomorrow!"

The redhead started to move towards the door and when she was about to touch it, she heard "Hey." Erza turned around and found Jellal in front of her. He took her hand in his and moved it under his lips. Erza's face was burning when she felt soft lips of the man on her skin and his thumb which moved across the top of her hand while his eyes – which she found to have a magnetic power of gold – slowly reached hers. He smiled gently. "Goodnight, Miss Scarlet."

Erza left the apartment confused and looking like in high fever. She had a strong urge to think over everything. The sooner, the better.

* * *

Jellal called a maid to clean up the plates after the dinner – normally, there would be no one who would come and clean at this hour, but since he was the owner… – and went to his bedroom. He changed the sheets himself and was about to give them to the maid who was still cleaning up when something rang inside of it. And it was not his ringtone. He threw everything on the ground and found a small cell phone. And some Gray Fullbuster was calling.

"Yes?" Jellal decided to answer the call and explain that Erza had left her phone.

"Wha… Who's that?" said the voice of a man, in the background there was a loud crack.

"Hello, I'm Jellal Fernandes. I assume you're looking for Miss Scarlet who's currently away. She left the mobile in my room" he said politely, and waited for an answer. But there was nothing… Just when Jellal decided to ask if there was still someone, that Gray man said, audibly annoyed.

"Who the hell are you?"

* * *

_**TRANSLATOR:**_

**1: **Waiter, three small beers more, please.

**2:** At once.

**3:** Miss, miss! Are you okay?

**4:** My name is…

**5:** in English

**6:** Yes?

**7:** Goodness

**8: **Ay, Mr. Fernandes, did you order a dinner a while ago?

**9:** Sure I did. Look, I'm sorry, but could you bring us a bottle of wine and some orange juice?

**10:** Sure, no problem.

.

**So, how's this? : I had such a great time, writing it that the chapter is publicized faster! Yaaay ^^**

**Thank you so much for your support and reviews. Thanks to you I will be able to improve:)**

**Love you all!**


	5. Five

**I do not own Fairy Tail! I bet all of you know it already, no? ;)**

* * *

**Five.**

* * *

"Who the hell are you?"

Jellal cleared his throat, bemused. First of all, the sudden hostility in the man's voice was definitely something unpredictable for the model. What was more, that Gray man sounded as if he was a dog jealous of his possession. _¿Pero por qué?_**¹**The bluenet did not recon doing anything wrong, which could have caused his conversationalist to behave like that… Unless…

"Excuse me, sir" Jellal decided to speak up before the situation got even more uncomfortable. "I just happened to pick up the phone, and I really do not understand, why you…"

"Oooooh? Gray, pass me the phone!"

Mr. Fernandes frowned. There was a woman as well? A woman, who called him Gray, without any suffix, as the Japanese had used to add to every person? Well, there was a certain situation where Japanese people _were_ calling each other casually, so, surely, she had to be… _Por supuesto, ¿su mujer?_**²** "H-hallo?"

"Cana, get the hell out or stay quiet!" the man's angry voice exclaimed. Was that really the way a man should have been talking to his wife? Moreover, there were some odd noises at the back and the bluenet guessed that those people were having a fight over the mobile phone, pulling and pushing the machine. Suddenly, something clicked and the sound changed.

"Silent, my ass.. Oh, my! I turned on the loudspeaker!" apparently, the woman giggled and added with satisfaction: "Now we can hear all that, right, Levy?"

"Mhm!" a new voice, coming across as the voice of a small girl, answered the question asked by the first woman. _Y ella tiene que ser su hija… ¿sí?_**³** Jellal could have heard an annoyed sigh and he deducted it was the noise, which came out of the man.

"Excuse me. I have no idea what's going on there, but I just wanted to say that Er… Um, Miss Scarlet is unavailable at this moment. I suggest you call her later, tomorrow might be the best…" he said respectfully, but with a note of uncertainty. The more was he talking to those people, the more he was confused. Mr. Fernandes set out to clear the situation up, but the woman did not let him finish the sentence.

"Oooh? Erza has already gotten herself a man? And what a sexy voice you have, mister!" she said with accolade. Jellal's eyebrows became one once again. Miss Scarlet definitely did not seem to be that kind of person… Actually, he was almost one hundred per cent sure that she was not. So, the woman on the other side of the line was either hoping for such revelation, or did not know the redhead at all. Which he found to be idiotic – she was calling her 'Erza' as well. _¿Ahora… Qué debo hacer?_**⁴** "So, tell me mister…"

"Fuck, Cana, you're drunk!" yelled the man.

"So what… GRAY, YOU FREAK! Don't go hitting me!"

"Gray, are you out of your mind? Give me the phone. Right. Now." The furious voice of a little girl said and Jellal, stunned in his apartment, heard the mobile phone moving in the air and the tap of the device when someone put it to his, or her, ear. "Hello? Are you still there, mister?"

"Y-yes…?" he answered, not being sure if it was a wise choice to react at all. The next moment he heard the conversationalist taking a few steps while the noises of an argument had stayed behind.

"I'm very sorry for the whole situation, mister. I cannot express how ashamed I am… Let me introduce myself. Levy McGarden here. Nice to meet you!"

"J-Jellal Fernandes" the bluenet replied. Somehow, he became even more amazed than when he had been talking to the man. That voice… Belonged to the quite famous photographer, Levy McGarden?! How was that even possible! He almost laughed out loud. _And I mistook her for a little girl…_

"Really? Woah, I've always wanted to do talk to you about some photo session…" she laughed and cleared her throat. "Ah, sorry, not the right time. Anyway, I'm really sorry for my friend's behavior. I mean, we're Erza's best friends. Quite a wild gang, huh? All we wanted was to call her… And I think that Gray panicked. By now you can tell that…"

"That he likes Miss Scarlet" Jellal ended the thought that Levy had started. She agreed with an onomatopoeia. "No problem, Miss McGarden, I suppose I should have never answered the phone. I just wanted to tell you to call Miss Scarlet later…"

"I appreciate this" said Levy. The bluenet smiled a little.

"_Muy bien_**⁵**. Then, I won't be taking your time, Miss McGarden. Thank you for understanding and, please, don't think badly of me."

"Are you kidding?! I'm very glad that Erza found a friend there. Truth to be said, Eru isn't very good at social life. She doesn't have the social skills, I guess? She doesn't feel comfortable 'bothering people' – that's how she have always been explaining her loneliness. I suppose you must be special in some way… Anyhow, please, Mr. Fernandes, take good care of her!" the man could have told that on the woman's face there was a wide smile when she had been saying the last sentence. Her voice was even brighter and he could have hardly understood the final few words.

"O-of course. Goodbye, then" replied Jellal politely and hung up.

The man walked across his apartment and went out on the balcony. _Entonces_**⁶**, the woman he had gotten acquainted with on that evening had such a bunch of aliens as her friends… Well, she had been frank about that, he recalled. And that man… He had taken a liking towards the redhead. And it was clear that she cherished him… _But, still, she didn't have any objections to eating with me_, thought Mr. Fernandes. _Maybe I'm just imagining things_. Oh! To heck with his vivid imagination. He was going to explain the matter with Miss Scarlet herself on the next day.

However, there was some difference inside of him. _The_ Jellal Fernandes, the model and the owner of a huge hotel chain, thus far never being interested in any girl felt some strange disturbance inside of his body. He sighed, realizing what was happening to him. If Erza Scarlet was already taken – as a woman… He would have had some difficulties with coping during some nearby time. _¿Y por qué?_ Because for the first time in his life Jellal had a feeling that he had found a woman who was worth being interested in.

It was the fate had gotten them to know each other that day. _Él estaba seguro de eso_**⁷**.

* * *

Erza was sitting in the breakfast area in front of the plate full of tropical fruits. During her admittedly short stay in Spain she he had already come to love all kind of foreign fruit, especially the citruses. They simply were reminding her of strawberries, which were her strongest weakness and uttermost – and, as far, solitary – addiction. She smirked, watching other guests from her table, who were going around the smorgasbord, picking up the most filling dishes. Especially the fat – unfortunately, it was not even worth trying to use any euphemisms to describe their postures – women. They were picking only bacon, at least five sausages, tons of bread, serving nothing less than three full spoons of scrambled eggs out and sidestepping everything that was green or healthy*****. _No wonder they look like this_, Erza thought with a grief.

The redhead sat down in her usual place, hoping to meet Lucy, Natsu or – at the exact idea she felt a shiver of nervousness going up and down her spine – Mr. Fernandes. She had not laundered the man's shirt yet, probably because of the fact that she had immediately rushed to her room to find some peace and calm down her goodness-had-known-why hammering heart. After the supper with the model the day before, Erza had truly needed it desperately. However, the dark and outwardly peaceful place of her safety had disappointed her. Not only had she not found a moment of tranquility, but also the silence had caused her mind to reflection. Needless to say the interior designer had hardly slept three hours due to those circumstances.

Erza was quite angry with herself for not realizing earlier that the man she had met just a few days ago was _the_ Jellal Fernandes. It was so obvious then – a few weeks ago Levy had been showing her some pictures of Mr. Fernandes, who was her dreamy model. _She's always wanted to meet him, and wanted him to pose for her_… Erza sighed. _I wonder what'd she say if she found out I got to meet him_! No, not only had she been able to _meet_ him. He had founded her the dinner and, on top of that, had saved her life. And, what topped the situation up, he was the possessor of the famous hotel chain.

_Oh, God._ She forgot. She had been supposed to call Gray the day before… And on account of her stupidity and the unexpected supper with the certain bluenet, she had not fulfilled her duties and ignored her friends. Right then she felt her enthusiasm subsiding. _Oh!_ _What an awful person I am! _The redhead decided to call her friend straight after finishing the meal. Well, maybe straight after she washed the shirt she had borrowed.

Erza smiled under her nose. Was that a haphazard, that her every thought was turning back to the obvious bluenet? Well, truth to be said, the man had completely attracted her and, as she had been slightly thinking about the mysterious person she had not known before, at that moment Erza had hardly spent a moment without having Mr. Fernandes on her mind. Was she… paranoid? Well, of course, if she had been planning to tell anyone, he would have definitely thought that she was. _Geez, it even sounds strange inside of my head_, the redhead sighed mentally, taking a bite of a pineapple.

"Oh, Erza!" the called woman rose her sight just to see Lucy and Natsu with wide smiles on their faces and the plates in their hands. "Mind if we join you?"

"Of course not" she smiled and moved aside to make more place. The couple sat down and started chatting with the redhead. "What were you doing yesterday?"

"Natsu stayed in bed for the whole day" Lucy rolled her eyes and gave the man a freezing glance. "I was wondering whether you'd be somewhere here and I was wandering around, but you were nowhere to be seen. Where were you?"

"Umm…" Erza hummed and took a bite of watermelon. She chewed the bit and added: "I was on the beach, and later went back to the hotel."

"Oh? But you were not in your room, I was knocking" stated the obvious Lucy.

"W-well… Yes. I had a… Um, an accident and had to trespass on the hospitality of some other guest…" she mumbled, ashamed to the limits. There was no way she could have lied to them.

"WHAT?!" yelled Natsu. Some guests from the neighboring table stared at the three of them with risen brows and expressions full of shock. Erza sent them an apologetic smile and glared back at Natsu.

"Don't yell."

"Y-yes! I'm sorry" he squealed.

"Exactly what you've heard. I had an accident" the redhead did not want to explain everything in detail. She was truly ashamed of her foolishness and did not intend to admit it to the friends.

"Erza… Are you all right?" asked Lucy with concern, placing her palm on the redhead's forearm.

"Yes, I am. Thanks to…" the interior designer was about to say to whom she owed her life, when she rose her brown eyes. Erza cleared her throat and blushed illogically. The reason of her survival was standing across the dining room, apparently focused on the various dishes in front of his eyes. Her hear beat sped up and the redhead closed her eyes, embarrassed of her ridiculous reaction. "Um, what was I saying? Lucy?"

"Are you okay? Erza, you behave strangely" commented Natsu. Then he grinned. "Did that accident involve hitting your hea hard?"

"Shut up, Natsu" said Lucy harshly. He pouted and turned his head away, showing the women that he stopped listening to whatever they were talking about. The blonde sighed and scrutinized Erza. She followed the redhead's sight and an expression of understanding crossed her face. "Ah."

"W-what?" asked Erza with perplexity.

"Oh, come on. I'm a woman as well. Aaand…" Lucy hung her voice and clapped her hands. "Now I know everything!"

"How awkward" murmured Erza and hid her face in her hands. The blush started to creep out onto her neck as well.

"So?" the blonde braced her elbows on the table desk and leaned her chin on the hands, her blue eyes sparkling out of curiosity and excitement. "What happened, exactly?"

"I almost drowned. He fished me out and rescued. Then he took me to his apartment and we ate a dinner" explained Erza reluctantly. She did not dare to look neither at Lucy, nor at Mr. Fernandes.

"Wow" exclaimed Lucy and giggled. "So romantic! What a gentleman… So, what's his name?"

"Good morning, Miss Scarlet" a bright, melodic baritone suddenly interrupted their conversation and both women gazed at the man who had approached their table. Even Natsu caught a glimpse of the guy. The bluenet was standing with that perfect smile of his and was looking straight at Erza.

"G-good morning, Mr. Fernandes" she replied. Her face lighted up without her even realizing that. The man chuckled lightly.

"I presume you slept well?"

"Yes, thank you. And I hope you had a good night as well" oh, how much she tried _not_ to bite her lip.

"Well, I'll see you around later on. Enjoy your meal" he nodded and went away, leaving rapturous Erza with enchanted Lucy.

"S-so, that was the g-guy…" the blonde stuttered with a wide smile on her face. Erza nodded. "You lucky girl!"

"Stop it, Lucy" the interior designer giggled uncontrollably. "Anyway, I need to go. Are you going to the beach today?"

"I guess so!"

"So see you there. Bye, Natsu" Erza winked and stood up. She took her plate and put it in the dish giveback counter, then left the place. She went back to her room and took the borrowed shirt to the bathroom. She had taken washing powder with herself and prepared the water. She presoaked the shirt and started to move the material.

As soon as Erza finished, she hung it out on the balcony. _In this sun, it should be dry in a moment_. She hummed some melody and went back inside. The woman changed into a swimsuit and grabbed a book, going back on the balcony to lay down on the beach chair. She had to wait for the cloth to dry up. She stayed like that for about half of hour. However, the pleasure of reading was abruptly broken by a knocking on her door.

"Who's that?" she mumbled and got off the sunbed to answer it. Erza threw the book away on the bed and hurried to the door, running her fingers through her long hair. Her hand reached the handle and pulled the entryway. The woman's jaw dropped and her cheeks flushed when she saw Mr. Fernandes, standing on the with the exact smile as he greeted her in the morning.

"Hello again" he said and tilted his head. Right then, his tattooed eye was entirely exposed. "May I come in?"

"Of course, please, do!" replied Erza, who managed to come out of shock and smiled as well. "I didn't expect you here, Mr. Fernandes."

"Well, you visited my room, Miss Scarlet, and I wanted to repay the visit" Jellal laughed shortly.

"I see. Please, make yourself comfortable" there was no need to repeat that, because the bluenet had already sat down on the balcony. Erza giggled. "Would you like something to drink, Mr. Fernandes? I have some cola and grapefruit juice."

"I'd love to have some juice, please" he answered with gratitude. While the redhead was gone, he spotted his shirt that he had lent the woman last evening. He smirked and crossed his arms. When she came back, he pointed his chin on the cloth and spoke up. "I told you, Miss Scarlet, you didn't have to wash it."

"Well, I'm sorry for being considerate, but I believe I spared you the trouble of doing it yourself" she spitted jokingly and put a glass with juice in front of the man, then she sat down herself. He grinned and took a sip of the liquid.

"You amaze me, Miss Scarlet."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked apprehensively, moving uncomfortably on the chair.

"Ah, no, not at all! It's really something… Different" he confessed, running away with his golden eyes. Erza frowned a little. Was that her imagination, or the man was suddenly perplexed?

"Different?"

"Please, don't make me explain it now…" Jellal smiled gently, using – deliberately or not – the smile which could have melted a heart of stone. Not to mention poor Erza. The man thought for a moment, enquiring afterwards: "Are you free this evening?"

"Y-yes, why?" she stuttered a little, not sure of what the man was trying to convey.

"Ah, nothing. I'd like to get to know you better… And I offer to take you out to dinner. Somewhere in the town. If… that's okay with you" Mr. Fernandes lifted his left eyebrow, along with his right mouth corner.

Erza blinked several times, staring at the bluenet in astonishment. Finally, she beamed and ejaculated enthusiastically: "Oh, yes! That would be fantastic!"

Jellal nodded, content, then remained silent for several moments, finally said slowly. "Yesterday you left mobile phone in my room. I found it when you were gone, and… Your boyfriend called." He waited for the words to reach the woman's ears and watched carefully her reaction.

Erza sloped her head and frowned a bit. "Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

"What? Mr. Fernandes, is this a joke?"

"_Pues no_**⁸**."

"Well, you see" she smirked and finished the sentence frivolously. "If you have his number, please, give it to me. I'd gladly meet him at long last!"

Jellal's eyes widened and his hand with the glass froze in air. Then he burst out laughing, but it was not a mean snicker. No. The man was laughing from the bottom of his heart, venting his relief. When he finally calmed down a little, he extracted: "Miss Scarlet, you are a pretty hard act to follow!"

"I don't understand" admitted Erza, ruffled.

"No, I'm sorry, that was silly of me" he chuckled one last time and told her about the Gray Fullbuster man, who had called her phone the previous evening, and how Jellal had picked up the phone. When the man went into specifics of the conversation – of course, sparing her the details of that Cana's commentaries – the redhead felt her face burning out of shame and discountenance – she had expected her friends to behave much better… Well, at least Levy had kept her face and had acted collectedly.

"Oh, my… I'm sorry, Mr. Fernandes" she moaned, face-palming herself. "I didn't think that they would act so… imprudently… And thank you for your good intentions, I really am thankful for it."

"Don't mention it" he mumbled and finished his drink. "So, Miss Scarlet, I'll come and pick you up at seven, is that okay?"

"Sure" her lips formed a cute smile and the redhead stood up to see the man off to the door. Mr. Fernandes stopped in the passage and bowed down, then left. Erza waited a few moments after his egression and, when she was completely sure that the bluenet was gone, she squealed and cried in excitement.

She, Erza Scarlet, an ordinary woman was going out with _the_ Jellal Fernandes that evening.

And yes, she considered it as a date.

* * *

Erza met Lucy and Natsu at the beach and, pouncing on the blonde's fiancé absence, she told her that Mr. Fernandes was taking her out. Lucy stopped caring about any semblance of normality and started jumping all around the towels they had been lying on, shrieking.

"Oh my God, Erza! Awesome! You're the one lucky girl! I _so_ knew that he was gonna go out with you!" she was dancing like a real ballerina. Lucy did not seem to notice her friend's awkwardness. She tapped onto the ground and braced herself on the elbows, gazing at Erza. "So? What are you going to wear? And what about the make up? Do you need some help with your hair?"

"Lucy" the redhead laughed nervously. "I haven't even…"

"Really?!" the blonde cried and clapped her hands, which caused her to fall onto the sand. However, the fact that she been dirty did not seem to bother her. "Ne, Erza, I'll help you! You'll look just gorgeous, and Mr. Fernandes won't be able to resist you!"

"What are you saying" Erza got irritated a little. "I'm not the kind of girl who wants to do… _Any_thing… On the first date. Or in the nearest future. And if this will even be a real date!"

"Hmm, let's think" the blond fashion designer pretended to be thinking hard. "A man invites you on a dinner. In the evening. Meanwhile, he tells you that he's interested in you. In addition, calls you irreplaceable. No. You're right. It _CANNOT_ be a date. Not at all."

"Stop it!" the scarlet-haired woman moaned and caught at her head. "No wonder I'm freaking out, with a friend like this…"

"It's gonna be okay" Lucy winked at her and, to Erza's petrifaction along with the greatest concern , finished with a wicked smile. "Then, it's decided. I'm taking care of you this evening."

* * *

Erza Scarlet was standing in front of a mirror in her room, astonished. Exactly at 6:40 pm Lucy had finished preparing the redhead's outfit and _very_ evening look. So there she was, thinking about the only thing she could have before Mr. Fernandes would have come to pick her up.

_I. Am. Going to. Kill. Her. In case I survive myself._

* * *

**THE TRANSLATOR:**

**1: **But why?

**2: **Surely, his wife?

**3: **And she has to be their daughter... Yes?

**4: **Now... What should I do?

**5: **Very good.

**6: **Then

**7: **He was sure of it.

**8: **But, of course not.

* * *

**It's not that good as the last one, but I think the chapter is quite okay:) would you mind sharing your opinion? It really is important for a writer to know what the reader is thinking :)**

**Anyway, I had my 20****th**** birthday yesterday – yes, the "name day" of May, the fifth :D – and consider the chapter as a present prom myself to all the dear people who support my work! Thank you so much.**

**Anyway. I was gone for the whole week, out of civilization and the Internet access, so I tried to catch up on the stories I'm reading, so if I missed something – sorry. :)**

* * *

**PS I SO wanted to add more to this chapter, but it's already eight pages long, and consists of 3869 words. See you next time :)**


	6. Six

**Hiro Mashima owns everything in here. Well, obviously not Malaga, but the characters;)**

* * *

**Six.**

* * *

Jellal Fernandes arrived under the certain woman's door two minutes before the time of their appointment, however, he decided it was not too early for the meeting. He adjusted the collar and dusted off some invisible dirt from his shoulder. At last, he knocked on the door.

"Just a moment!" a voice from inside called. Nevertheless, Erza did not make him wait for herself too much; the door opened before long, and the redhead stood right in front of him. The man froze with widened eyes, his jaw dropped. So, that was it for the greeting. She went on with an explanation of her behavior, without a doubt unaware of her effectiveness and his temporary speechlessness. "Oh, hello, Mr. Fernandes, please, do come in. I'll be just ready, only looking for my handbag. Where did I put it!"

"P-please, take your time" he answered and took a step inside. The area of his collar had suddenly become too hot and he had to loosen it. Sitting down, he thought that the woman had not been disappointing him and she would not have brought him any shame in public. _Bien, llevo la ropa elegante como ella. Pero, ¡Dios mío!_**¹**_..._ The man sighed and tried to calm down his senses at the look at his today's date.

Erza was wearing a slight make-up, which emphasized her finely chiseled features. The crimson-painted lips made the woman look a little dangerous, but also extraordinarily subtle. Miss Scarlet's hair were tied into the chignon, although there were quite a few bangs left on her forehead plus tendrils on both sides. A long, swan neck was exposed, turning into the shoulders and collar bones, which protruded gratefully. _Ay, caramba_**²**, Jellal thought and cleared his throat discretely. There were not the slightest straps on her arms, the violet dress started under her armpit, passing through her chest and full breasts, clinging to her figure. The piece of wardrobe was ending just before her knees. Erza was wearing high heels, which almost made her the same height as Jellal.

"Okay. I'm ready" she announced, standing straight before his eyes with a smile. He did not even notice her finding the missing bag. The man got up, not even trying to avoid her sight and came closer. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips tenderly, which caused her to blush crazily. "W-what was that for?"

"A greeting, because I was too stunned to say anything earlier" Mr. Fernandes answered and smiled as well. He waited a second, but since Erza had not been asking about the reason of his astound, he added: "You look simply amazing, Miss Scarlet."

"Thank you" she mumbled, flushing – if it was possible – even more. "You, too. As always, though."

"You flatter me" the bluenet laughed and checked the time. "I'm afraid we must go. Our taxi should be waiting in front of the hotel, so let's not make the driver wait for too long."

"Of course. Let's go" the redhead agreed and left the room before the man. Jellal closed the door and followed her steps, then he caught up with her. "So, where are we going?"

"First, we are going to eat something in a restaurant" Jellal replied, letting Erza first to the elevator.

"First?" she casted a look at the man. He did not seem to be eager to tell her more, though, so after the door of the elevator was closed and she pushed a first floor button, the redhead added: "And then?"

"You'll see" he chuckled while the elevator started to move. Miss Scarlet pouted, which visibly amused the man. "But don't worry, please. I think you will like it."

"Oh, Mr. Fernandes, you must know I'm quite impatient when it comes to surprises" she spitted out, and at that moment the machine stopped. They went out and Jellal, pretending not to have heard her comment, led his companion to the taxi, which was waiting for them in front of the entrance to Grand Hotel. "You still don't want to tell me what is it?"

"No." he answered impersonally, opening the door for her, then sitting next to her himself. Afterward, he turned to the driver: "To the promenade, please."

Mr. Fernandes caught a glimpse of the woman sitting next to him, who had a smitten expression while looking through the car window. Once again, he felt a strong urge to get to know her the best he could have. _Otra vez_, _¡qué mujer tan interesante!_**³** He smiled and looked outside the window himself, stretching his arms and putting them down. When his left palm was down, it landed on Erza's hand. He whisked it quickly, saying: "Oups, I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't mention it" Erza laughed nervously, taking her own hand away. There was a moment of an awkward silence.

"Ah, look, Miss Scarlet, we're here" noticed Jellal and the taxi stopped. He paid the driver and got off, approached the woman's door, opened it and helped her to get out of the car. "I hope you have your appetite" he smiled and gazed at the sky. The evening was beautiful; the sun was slowly coming down the horizon_. ¡Qué maravilloso!_**⁴**, he thought in amazement.

"Mr. Fernandes, where are we going?" she asked.

"We have to get to the restaurant. Meanwhile, we will take a small walk there, if you don't mind" Jellal gave the woman his arm and she clung to it, in which he suspected a destructive influence of the high heels on her feet. Anyway, the situation was unquestionably not something he could have complained about.

"Of course" Erza's cheeks flushed a little and she smiled cutely. The bluenet could not have helped it and smiled widely himself, his facial tattoo twisted as his cheeks went higher. Right then, his only worry was that someone could have recognized in him the famous model he was and disturb the precious personal time they had. Yet, he must have been lucky, because as far nothing like that had happened.

They strolled down the promenade, arm in arm, talking. Their little chat was going so well that Jellal almost missed a turn to the eating place they were going to. Erza giggled when he told her he had failed to notice the very place, but she tactfully tried to hold the laughter back in order not to make him feel more uncomfortable. Finally, they reached their walk's destination, which turned out to be a charming place. There was a garden full of tables, which had belonged to the restaurant. In the middle of the garden, there was a small fountain. At last, but not least, all around the place there were flowers and climbing plants onto the special, wooden ladders, and they even were dangling from the ceiling's woodwork, which made the place look amiable.

"How beautiful! How romantic" sighed Erza, absolutely delighted.

"Do you like it?" the man wanted to confirm it, apparently anxious about her opinion.

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed with sparkling eyes out of excitement.

"I'm glad" he nodded with relief. He even had started to wonder if that was not too much for their merely second meeting. Moreover, he did not want Erza to think of him as some Casanova or fast-moving guy. No. He preferred it going slow. And that restaurant only showed her she was thought of as someone important. By then, one of the waiters approached them and asked about the reservation. "_Sí, teníamos la reservación para las siete y media. Para dos_.**⁵**"

"_Aj, sí, claro. Ustedes vengan conmigo, por favor_.**⁶**"

The man followed the waiter first, showing Erza the way after them. It was better for him to be closer to the waiter since he did not seem do speak very good English apart from the standard trio: 'good morning', 'goodbye' or 'thank you', not to mention knowing any of Japanese. However, the woman seemed to understand the situation perfectly, seeing as she had smiled reassuringly to him, he felt a little relieved.

"_Su mesa la_ _está por aquí_**⁷**" Said the waiter, showing them one of the tables and went away to bring the guests menus. Jellal, as befitted for a gentleman, shifted a chair and smiled at Erza with an inviting twinkle in his eyes. He observed her approach the chair and her perfectly smooth back when she was sitting down. When she was seated, he took his own place in front of the woman and put his hands one on another on the table.

"So?" Jellal clenched his fingers under the second palm. "Do you think it's enough?"

"Mr. Fernandes" Erza smiled reassuringly. "I'm not a princess of any kind, and I don't need to be at any castle, treated like one to like anything. I am happy to be here – with you…" she added the last two words quieter, but it was quite a confident end of the sentence for her. "You know, it's kind of amazing. You're one of the most popular models, yet you're extraordinarily modest and… And…"

"And?" he lowered his head, listening carefully.

"And genuine."

"I'm only a person, you see" he chuckled lightly. The waiter came back and handed them the menus he had brought, and asked:

"_¿Qué querían para beber?_**⁸**"

"Miss Scarlet, what would you like to drink?" Jellal translated the question for his date.

"Oh, for now, I'd like to have water with gas" Erza answered, smiling sweetly.

"_Pues, quisieramos las aguas con gas, por favor. __Encargaremos algo más mientras pidiendo un plato segundo_**⁹**" the bluenet nodded at the waiter and he disappeared once again.

Truth to be said, Jellal, who was an indicator of the date, did not concoct any elaborate plan for it. Their meeting should not have been forced by whatever thing and the conversation – natural. Furthermore, the whole idea of a perfect date was an asininity, and the man had already learned his lesson in the past – as well as he had started to think about the dates like a woman would have. Reality had a dreadful habit of ruining every blueprint. However, Mr. Fernandes witted that the main purpose of a date was to have the second one, and many more after that. That was a particular reason for the man to have some original and extraordinary ideas on how to entertain Erza. He just hoped for them to be enough.

On the other hand, Erza was prepared to spend that time marvelously, no matter what Jellal did intend. She had never tried to strike a pose – what an adequate expression for the whole situation! – in front of the genuine model, no matter what he would have thought of her. Fortunately, not only had he accepted her wild side, but also he had been determined to continue the acquaintance… And judging by the current situation, maybe even more than a mere relationship? Or was that only her pious hope?

The waiter came back, disturbing their conversation to take the main order. Jellal was translating every word between the woman and the waiter to help them communicate, and when they managed to send him away for the food, the server nodded and left them alone. The bluenet checked his watch nervously – it was almost eight o'clock and he had to watch the time in order not to neglect the next point of the program.

Nevertheless, there was still some time left. Mr. Fernandes peeked at Erza, whose eyes were shiny and dreamy. She was looking at the decorations with vagueness. He smiled at the sight and braced his cheek on his hands at the table. In the meantime, the redhead turned back her head, thus when she saw Jella's expression, the blood in her veins rushed crazily, in consequence causing her cheeks to flush. So as to cover it up a little bit, she flicked her hair. Jellal chuckled and tried to defuse the situation.

"You know, Miss Scarlet, the blush on your cheeks does suit you."

"Umm, thank you, but… Oh, how embarrassing!" she moaned and covered her face under her palms.

"Isn't it quite cute, as you, Japanese, call it?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"W-well…"

"Oh, so it is" he laughed lightly. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you, though. You people are so hard to understand for a person who was raised in Spain…"

"But why?" Miss Scarlet gazed at the man with an interest, which, again, made him chortle.

"I'l try to explain it to you. _Mira_**¹°**, we, _españoles_, are very open towards people. We talk to the ones we don't know, we smile at each other, we even hang out with almost unknown persons. Yet, what I really meant was that we, Spanish men, have a different… Approach to the women. First of all, we are known of adoring them. Compliments are never concealed or ulterior, they're used very candidly. What's more, our intentions are never hidden. When we like something – we say it out loud. When we don't – we do the same. We have some expectations or problem – nothing's easier than to share it with someone."

"Oh, I see. So, do you get annoyed when I react timidly at your compliments?" Erza almost whispered.

Jellal's eyes softened. "No. Oddly enough, I believe you're the only one who is not irritating in her modesty – probably because it's not forced."

The woman seemed not to know how to react; to show that she did not think she had ever deserved such compliment or not. However, her eyes betrayed her, so she only mumbled some thanks, which looked outrageous.

At that moment, the waiter reappeared and brought them the dishes along with the wine. Erza watched as the bluenet had a serious and vivid exchange of words. She frowned. Was something not right? Although she was worried, her frown relaxed as she saw the two men agreeing on something. Oh, how she regretted her ignorance and her lack of acknowledge in Spanish. _El camarero_ took his leave once again and the couple was left to enjoy their meal in privacy.

"Enjoy your meal" said Erza with a smile.

"Thank you. And we say_: ¡Buen provecho!_**¹¹**" replied Jellal and they started eating.

The food was delicious. Fresh, well-prepared and served in a very specific, but beautiful and interesting way. Never had Erza eaten anything so good. And the wine… As a matter of fact, she started to understand Jellal's tastes and why he had liked that restaurant so much.

Perfection – that was what it was.

* * *

The dinner, full of laughs, more private conversations led by their quiet voices and exchanged information about each other was abruptly stopped by Jellal himself. He caught a glance of the time and exclaimed '_Mierda_!**¹²**', whatever it meant for Erza. He apologized and asked her to follow him immediately, because the second attraction of the evening would have been in vain. The redhead, somewhat surprised, went after the man in a hurry, and they ran at the balcony, from which she could have seen the sea and a beach.

"We did it" he sighed and reached his hand towards the sea, "Look, Miss Scarlet."

"I… Oh!" Erza called out when she realized the whole purpose of them being there at the very moment.

Jellal smiled happily, with tenderness when she gasped and clung to the barrier. He had planned on taking her to the sunset, especially when from that very place the view was breathtaking. She observed as the huge star, shining less and less, hiding its face behind the horizon, making the sky color in pink, red and violet. _Looks like her blush_, he thought and held his laughter. But the main reason for that final, and somewhat tactful reaction was what he had seen.

Erza's figure was shining in the left sunlight. Her amazed and delighted face made him dizzy, plus his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to… No. He _needed to_ be close to her, as close as it was possible at that moment, thus he took a step in her direction. The next one… And another. And, finally, he stood right behind her, not too close to be touching her back with his torso, but also not too far away so that he could have felt the heat of her body and her perfumes. Jellal bit his lip, looking at the sight in front of his eyes… And it was not the view of the sea, but something closer, yet so much further, more provocative, and which was making his senses go wild. The man's hands went ahead, bracing themselves on the barrier a few inches away from Erza's, watching out not to touch her skin.

The interior designer felt a shiver go through her spine when she realized the position, and more importantly, the proximity of Jellal. She inhaled deeply, smelling his cologne and tried to avoid provoking him. Consequently, she watched the sun disappear behind the line of the sea with apparent curiosity. _Oh, for goodness sake, Erza, you've just met him_, her reason chastened her, while her senses pleaded for more… Well, _any_ contact with the bluenet. However, when the magical moment was over – too soon for her – she lost her hope and waited until Jellal would have taken back his arms.

Despite being light-headed, Erza's senses were able to abstract his movement, but it was different than she had expected. Her face and neck turned rosy when his face fetched up next to hers, and he whispered to her left ear softly, the blow of the hot air hitting her vulnerable skin. "I hope you liked it, Miss Scarlet. Let's head back, shall we?"

Under some impulse, the woman turned her head to his and stopped her nose three centimeters from Jellal's. His eyes widened in amazement, but he stayed still. Erza gave herself up to the urge of staring into his light, gentle eyes_. What an incredibly_… Finally, she managed to nod and bowed her head, ashamed of how obvious she had been a moment ago… _Foolish woman_.

Mr. Fernandes smiled under his nose and delicately took her hand into his own. _Que mano tan peque__ñ__a_**¹³**, he thought. The he pulled her after himself and they came back to the table, where a dessert was waiting.

"Thank you. It was magical" Erza spoke up first, softly letting go of his hand to sit down.

"I'm so glad" he laughed with relief. "So, let's eat what's left and then shall we move to the next place?"

"Of course" she smiled cheerfully.

* * *

After the dinner Jellal took Erza for a walk at the seaside, however their date was put in a great danger – some women recognized the bluenet as the famous model and rushed towards them. Fortunately, the man, who was versed in such situations, took Erza's hand again and started running. At first, the women followed the couple, yelling, but after a while they gave up.

Nevertheless, they stopped much farther, panting heavily, laughing.

"I've never been running away with a celebrity before" the redhead exclaimed, holding her stomach.

"Welcome to my world!"

Auspiciously, they reached the beach while running, so Jellal sent her a furtive look before stealing her handbag and running away with it on the sand, in the direction of the sea. Erza cried "Hey!" and followed his steps, her heels drowning in the sand. She came to a standstill to take them off and returned to the action. Meanwhile, Jellal got to the water and smirked at her, yet he did not know that shoeless Erza was quite a runner. She attacked him, but he spun around, taking the bag with him. Then he hung it high in the air, and she was too short to reach it, even though she was jumping. However, Jellal put his guard down and his arm lowered a little, and the woman made a huge effort by standing on the top of her toes. She reached it, and even grabbed it! Even so, the bluenet tried to pull it away from her and ended up pulling her as well…

A moment later they were lying on the wet sand, Erza on top of Jellal, still holding the handbag. Her thoughts rushed, panicked_, I'm lying on him, what should I do?!_ At the same time, the man was calming himself down. _Tranquilo, tranquilo_**¹⁴**… But having her on his chest felt really good. At last, he chuckled, not being able to hold it anymore. So that was for the whole avoidance of physical contact.

Erza blushed madly and rolled herself off the man, adjusting her dress, which apparently had a strong wish to fall down. _What do I do, what do I do?_ She heard that Jellal started to move and she shot a glance at him. He was now bracing himself on the elbow and looking at her with a smirk. The redhead rose her eyebrow questioningly.

"Crazy woman" he said.

"Mad man" she answered.

"And I managed to open you up" he laughed quietly. "I must say I like what I saw."

"Oh, you!" she exclaimed and giggled. "Interesting way of managing with the problem. So, it was planned as well?"

"Not at all" he reassured her and looked up. "Look, Miss Scarlet."

Erza rose her sight above and sighed. "The stars look beautiful. We don't have such a beautiful sight in Japan."

"Why?"

"Too much of smog and skyscrapers… Nature doesn't like us that much."

"Too bad." Jellal moved and grimaced. "Come on, let's stand up. We're wet, and we need to get dry to get rid of the sand."

"I like it here."

The bluenet looked at her in disbelieve, but did not comment it. Only when did Erza complain she was cold, they got up. Jellal checked the time and whistled. "I think we should get back. It's almost midnight."

"Midnight!" she yelled in horror.

"Why are you so thrilled? Do you change into a poor Cinderella at the time?" he smiled.

"No, no, but I promised my friends to go on a trip with them, and it's tomorrow… Well, today" Erza explained with apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fernandes, but I need to get back."

"Well. It's not the last occasion to go out, or is it?" he asked jokingly and the interior designer blushed. "Anyway, let's catch a taxi."

They managed to take a taxi quite fast and, as much as Erza did not want to end the date so soon, they drove right to the hotel. Not talking much, they both greeted the receptionist and entered the elevator. Jellal insisted on waking her to her room's door, where the time of saying goodbye came.

"Thank you for the amazing evening, Mr. Fernandes. I don't remember having such a good time with anyone" said Erza with a smile.

"And thank you, Miss Scarlet. I hope to see you after the trip you're going on" Jellal nodded and captured her hand, lifting it to his lips and brushing them over her skin. Erza shivered a little and when he finished, she climbed on her toes in the heels and gave a short peck on his cheek.

"Goodnight."

"Good night" the man repeated with a funny expression, which made Erza giggle and the door closed. Leaving both of them in high spirits.

That was for Erza's third day in Malaga.

* * *

**TRANSLATOR:**

**1** – Good, I'm wearing elegant clothes, like her. But, oh God…

**2** – Oh, damn!

**3** – Once again, what an interesting woman!

**4** – How wonderful!

**5** – Yes, we had a reservation for 7:30pm. For two.

**6** – Oh, yes, surely. Please, follow me.

**7** – Your table is here.

**8** – What would you like to drink?

**9** – So, we would like to have two glasses of gas water, please. We will ask for more while ordering the second plate.

**10** – Look.

**11** – Enjoy your meal.

**12** – Shit!

**13** – What a small hand.

**14** – Calm down, easy…

* * *

**Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for waiting for the new chapter to come out, I've said it'll be posted earlier, but I was caught up into writing a new OneShot, "Love will find a way", which you can check out if you like:) it's more on an everyday story, and I think you may like it. PLUS I have final exams at the university soon, so I'm studying hard to repeat everything.**

**So, that's it for Erza and Jellal's date. What do you think? I'd love you all to let me know, in a review or in PM what you think. What did you like, what is it you didn't? It'll help me with the plot later:)**

**Uhh. Is there such a dreadful weather in your countries as well? Because in Poland it's stormy all the time. I wonder if the weather will ever get better xD**

* * *

**PS **Special thanks for_**severedserenity**_and _**ScarletPrincessTitania**_ who PMed me to ask for the update.


	7. HOLIDAYS

**Guys. I ****do not**** abandon the story. Neither of them. I love them, and they become a very important part of my life. Along with all of you, my dear Readers, of course. However, I have holidays, and I'm at my cottage, where I hadn't had any internet, and now – tadaaaam! – there is some access, BUT. It's limited. So. I have no idea when the new chapter will be published. **

**Sorry for the inconvenience. And making you wait for it.**

**Love you all!**

**Izabela.**


	8. Seven

**Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

**Remark: **I have no idea** why**, but I was writing Jellal's surname with an 's'. The Spanish one should be definitely with he 'z', so **sorry** for the confusion.

**+ EDIT:** I messed up the translator part, sorry :D that's what I get for being a proofreader on my own, huh. Thanks to _Sara_ who noticed that!

* * *

**Seven.**

* * *

"Erza, but you _promised_!"

"Lucy, look at the clock, please. Moreover, you know how much I slept… Or that I almost didn't sleep at all. Can't this wait a little bit longer?"

"Hmm… Guess what? Nope" the blonde pouted and crossed her arms, determined to worm every little detail concerning last night out of the redhead. Right there and then. "It's already six o'clock!"

"And we've been travelling to Granada for more than an hour already, picking up tourists from other places around Malaga. Let me sleep a bit, would you? I returned to the hotel late and had not enough rest…" Erza was desperately trying to give her inflexible friend some reasonable, quite acceptable arguments and even reach her usually soft heart, however that time Lucy pretended to be deaf and coldhearted.

"So? You're not sleeping anyway."

"Because you won't let me" the woman sighed heavily.

"What's more, Natsu's sleeping! He won't hear anything."

"Lucky man…" Scarlet murmured and yawned monstrously. Lucy waited a while until Erza was finished, which the redhead took as an opportunity to consider her current position. She thought for a moment about all the possible options left, but encountered nothing more than giving up and supply the clothes designer with all the information she wanted to know so badly. Erza sighed again and reluctantly murmured: "Oh, okay… Come closer and listen carefully, you stubborn girl."

Upon that answer, Lucy happily clapped her hands, accidentally waking up a stranger napping to her right side. She smiled at him apologetically and moved herself next to Erza, leaving her fiancé completely deep in sleep. Erza lowered her head in resignation, waiting for the girl to sit down comfortably. They were in the middle of the long-promised trip to Granada, which begun at five in the morning by sitting in a modern, quiet bus, which appeared to flow delicately through the air, not even touching the road. That was probably the reason why other tourists were in bottomless sleep, just like Natsu…

Except for the fact that they had not taken the whole leaf of anti-locomotive sickness' tablets.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Oh! So many things, like how's his character? Did he prove being a gentleman? Is his Spanish temperament taking over him, or rather the Japanese side? Where were you? What did you talk about?" Lucy stopped that stream of questions in order to take a breath, but Erza protested.

"Wait, ease up, Lucy. I'll tell you everything, but not at once! Do you think I remember any of the questions you asked me a moment ago?"

"Well…"

The woman shook her head and smiled slightly. "So. Mr. Fernández…"

"Stop. You're still calling him per mister?" Lucy interrupted in disbelief.

"Don't barge in" Erza glared at her friend, who immediately rose her hand in remorseful gesture. "Yes. And he's calling me per miss."

Lucy's facial expression was visibly showing her disbelief and urge to voice the further opinion, but that time she held those remarks to herself, letting Erza continue.

"Therefore, he took me to a restaurant, where we ate some delicious food. In the middle of our supper, Mr. Fernández took me by surprise and led me to a balcony to see the magnificent sunset together, then we went back to finish the meal."

"So romantic, watching the sunset together...But! Tell me, Erza… Because your relation is pretty short and impoverished in details… Nothing happened there?" Lucy gazed at her with her piercing eyes, almost pleading to make her admit it. The woman gulped.

"Nothing at all" answered Erza, however with uncertainty, which did not got ahead of unnoticed.

"Really… Nothing-nothing?" the blonde pushed it with a smile, noticing her hesitance.

"W-well, he got closer to me, and we were standing like that…" she imitated the position. "But that's all, I swear" replied the interior designer with abashment, uncomfortably readjusting her position. "Then we went for a walk, but met a group of Mr. Fernández's fans and we had to escape. We lost them at the beach…"

"Oh, yeah. A famous model, riiight" laughed Lucy, showing Erza with a gesture to go on.

"Yeah. And we spent there the rest of time, laying on the sand" finished the redhead with relief. "Finally, he just took me to the hotel and we said goodbye…"

"No goodbye kiss? Or any other? Nothing?" the blonde almost moaned with disappointment.

"And what did you expect?" groaned Erza – intentionally overlooking the fact that she pecked his cheek – crossing her arms in defense. "We've known each other only for a few days… it's too early, isn't it?"

"It's not. I think that if you like the guy, you should go for it and show it to him when you still have time. You know, you're going back within a week and a half… Just hurry up and admit it!" stated Heartfilia, becoming serious. Erza frowned and thought about the advice she had received. That was the truth, she liked Mr. Fernández. Very much, indeed…

"I'll think about it" the redhead promised, yawning once again. "Right now, it's just too early."

"Okay, take your time" Lucy laughed and patted Erza's shoulder. "You know, I have a feeling we're going to talk it over again, more than once."

Erza Scarlet sighed and nodded, entirely sure of it. _Certainly_.

* * *

In spite of the early wake-up, the whole trip was amazing. In the first place, they visited Alhambra, which was a great and beautiful Islamic palace in Granada, divided into three parts: Arabic Palace, Palace of Carlos V and Alcazaba. Erza was going in the first line, close to the guide, who was spinning a tale about the sultan of Granada in the ninth century, who had been living there. During the story Erza got to know every detail of the architecture and Islamic style of life. Later on, the guide moved his story to Carlos V, which seemed less interesting, but the tourists were bravely listening to every word. Moreover, it was interesting to encounter that the palace was renewed during the 19th century, thus in fact there were some slight changes inserted in the whole building. However, what utterly amazed and ravished the redhead were the Generalife Gardens situated to the east of Alhambra. Those gardens belonging to the palace were simply magnificent, and when the tour guide told the group they had some free time to explore, she went away from the group to pass through trim, exquisite alleys, admiring the strangest and most interesting shapes of the cut bushes and trees. After several minutes, Lucy and Natsu joined her.

"Beautiful, eh?" accosted Lucy with shining eyes.

"Absolutely, I haven't seen anything this incredible in my life" confessed Erza, looking around in delight.

"Phew. Come on, girls. They're just some flowers and bushes…" started Natsu, but under the nasty glares of both of the women he quickly cleared his throat and finished. "Of course, it's arrangement is very original, and I saw some rare kinds of scrubs…"

Nonetheless, both women stopped paying attention to whatever he was saying and begun their own conversation, sharing opinions and observations. They both agreed that Alhambra and its gardens were worth seeing and the trip was officially marked as successful. Finally, Natsu turned their attention at the hour and they all agreed that it was high time to be going back.

From the palace, the bus went to the town and stopped near the Capilla Real Cathedral, where the guide made an hour deadline for every trip member and explained how to get to the Santa Isabel church, where the bus would have been waiting for them at 8pm. Right from there, the group would have been transported to the caves of the Sacromonte for supper and a great flamenco show, which started at 10pm. So Erza, Lucy and Natsu started exploring Granada, which turned out to be quite a nice city, full of churches and other relics. Unfortunately, it also turned out to be a bit rusty, with many extremely poor people sitting at the streets, begging. It was nothing like Malaga, which was definitely more attuned for tourism – at least involving the streets and downtown in general. Nevertheless, it still had its own charm and it was pleasant to do a little sightseeing.

Up until then, the women were never alone, followed everywhere by talkative Natsu beside, plus having a full service of other draws to enjoy. More of it, there were so many attractions that it determined Erza's mind to have been occupied by something else, not concerning the Mr. Fernandez trouble. It abruptly came back to her while she was waiting for the couple, which was buying some ice-cream in the nearest place.

Since she was not buying anything, Erza was standing in front of the shop, not wanting to make an impression of making any bigger line-up inside. On the street, there were some Spanish men, who were trying to talk to her, but she politely kept refusing to keep the conversation up – the fact that she barely understood anything was another story. Suddenly, the man who was currently talking to her with a friendly smile was called by the surname of Fernández. A prickle went through her spine and she quickly turned to that Fernández guy. Of course, it was not _this_ one as in Spain it was quite a popular surname, however Erza did not know that. She blushed and shook her head, calming herself down. _There's no way he'd be here, stupid_… Besides, even if he had been there, as the famous model he would have been surrounded by a thousand of fans. _Female_ fans.

Yet, instead of allaying herself, the redhead felt irritation growing inside. _And why on Earth did I react like that, like I was longing to see him so soon…_ Once more, she shook her head and sighed. To her relief, Lucy and Natsu went out of the ice-cream parlor and approached her with their treat, and what was more, holding an extra one.

"Here, take that" said Lucy, winking. "You like strawberry flavor, right?"

"Oh! I adore strawberries" laughed Erza and accepted the present, hiding her annoyance at herself. "How did you know?"

"Guessed" replied Natsu and licked his ice-cream.

"Who'd know you're such a thinker, Natsu" Erza winked at him and Lucy giggled. Luckily, not only did Natsu not notice her gesture, but also did not even get angry, completely absorbed by devouring the sweet.

Regardless of keeping a happy expression in front of her friends, Erza felt something bothering her. More to that, she knew exactly _what_ it was. After the earlier conversation she had had with Lucy in the bus, the summary of her own feelings had become a priority. The sooner she would have done that, the better. Oh, how she needed some time alone, but at the trip it was hard to get some privacy… Especially when she was spending her time with the certain noisy couple. Finally, she decided to try encountering some solitude during the flamenco show, even if it meant that she would have missed part of the display.

In the meantime, they were still walking through Granada's streets, exploring. Yet the redhead was not conscious of one thing – that she was being watched carefully by Lucy, who had taken the plunge to help her oblivious friend with that mysterious mister. Even if it was – and considering Erza Scarlet's short temper, if she had known about it, it was quite feasible – the last thing she would have done in her life.

* * *

As a result, just before the start of the flamenco show Erza excused herself to the toilet. According to the plan, she was to sneak out to the garden on the back of the local, and later Lucy was supposed to have joined her after several minutes, leaving oblivious Natsu at the table for him to keep it. Nonetheless, when the redhead left her place, Lucy scrutinized her friend's way to the toilet and clicked her tongue.

"What's it, Luce?" Natsu gazed at his fiancée with a questioning look.

"Oh, nothing" she shook her headslowly, then continued with an abrupt – at least for Natsu – vividness. "I mean, come on! She _totally_ likes him, why doesn't she understand it" the blonde pouted. "She's so oblivious, and I need to help her realize that there's just nothing to lose, right? Especially when she's so short in time."

"Honey" Natsu frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That she's totally enamored of this Fernandez guy!"

"Who?!"

"Erza!"

The man made an expression of a complete surprise. "Our Erza?"

"Are you blind! She's acting all strange, and she looks like she's dreaming all the time, and she even…"

"Enough!" Natsu caught his head in the hands. "Man, my head's aching because of your blabbing. You're supposed to be a girl and notice things like that, and I'm a guy. I ain't gonna see it, Luce."

"If only you'd want to…" started the blonde, but once again was cut short.

"But I don't. Anyway, lemme watch this, eh?"

"Sure, do whatever you want to" the clothes designer rolled her eyes and left her fiancé alone, heading after Erza. She exited the main room where the dancers were putting on quite a show and entered the garden, gazing around. "Erza?"

"Here" the redhead stuck her head from behind one of the bushes, waving her hand, apparently sitting on a bench.

"Okay, I'm coming" Lucy smiled and approached her. She slowly sat down beside Erza and sighed heavily. "How quiet!"

"It's good to find a place like this to talk, right?" Erza giggled and exhaled the air. "Anyway, Lucy. I've been thinking…"

"Yeah?"

"And I decided that I don't have enough knowledge to state my opinion yet. I've only known Mr. Fernandez for three days – three! – and I can't tell whether I like him or not" she exclaimed with seriousness and dignity.

"B-but why?" asked confused Lucy. She felt her lips make one line – that was not the answer she had been waiting for! "I thought that I told you clearly that there's no time for you, Erza! You need to hurry up if you'd like to…"

"How can I decide on what I like if I don't know that guy?" the redhead twisted her face.

"You're so oblivious" sighed Lucy. "And blind…"

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you _are_. You're relying too much on the reasonableness and not enough on your instincts" instructed her the blonde, lowering her head.

"Are you saying" stated Erza, determined to understand it. "that emotions… Oh, all right, especially love doesn't make sense?"

"Does it?" the girl whispered and squinted her eyes, then caught a glimpse of Erza's serious and confused facial expression. "Hey. Have you never been in love?"

"N-no, why?... I d-don't think I had – no, that I _gave_ fate any chance…" the redhead leaned her back against the cold metal of the bench they were sitting on. She stared at the dark blue sky, biting her lower lip, deep in thought. "Working at the company like crazy, always hanging out with girlfriends and one childhood male friend wasn't really the most fortunate way of falling in love. What's more, I've never needed it, nor I do now. Or so I thought."

"Congratulations" Lucy laughed silently, poking Erza's arm playfully. "You've just made a huge step ahead!"

"I never said anything concrete" Erza immediately protested, the blood hitting her cheeks from inside. The sight of her blush made the blonde chuckle.

"Oh, you did, my dear. You so very did."

* * *

**[A/N: listen quietly on YT! **_/watch?v=B2MCptNzNlg_**]**

Jellal Fernández, after the whole day of non-planned, tiring meetings was resting on a sunbed over the swimming pool, slowly sipping his favorite mojito in peace, disturbed only by the quiet latino music from the bar. Even though the sun had already set quite some time before, he did not really care. His mind was preoccupied with the latest revelations, and to his displeasure there were many of those. _Demasiado mucho._ (**0**_)_

First of all, there was the whole business with the hotels – his father decided to open two additional hotels abroad, which clearly required the answer of his son. The manager and the notary had spent half of the day with him, arranging many details which had not been yet decided. Apparently, the head of the chain had left all those things for the son, not wanting to overwork himself with such formalities. However, his father not only had required his agreement, but also had decided that Jellal should have come there in person to celebrate that moment of 'the great importance for the whole world'. Which clearly was destroying his plans for the next two days. Which obviously led him away from seeing and spending time with his new acquaintance.

_Segundo_, Jellal's manager from the world of fashion had paid him a visit as well. Needless to say that he had brought quite a good offer of being a model for the most known fashion designer from the USA, just one session – yet, to the greatest disappointment of the manager, he had had to decline it. The bluenet smirked. ¡_Qué suerte_**¹**! If the notary had not come before the second manager had, he would have probably been on his way to New York, lacking any good excuse, and Jellal did not have the slightest desire to do so. He took a sip of his mojito and smiled a little, remembering his manager's teary expression while he had been calling the USA agency to decline the very offer.

_Y_ _finalmente_, the only unsolved problem on which he had spent the biggest amount of time – the mentioned earlier acquaintance with the certain woman. Or, to be exact, she had become more of a friend to him... Suddenly, he heard the chorus of the played song and growled. _Dios mío, ¿quién puse esta música_**²**_?_ He thought with irritation, trying to ignore the lyrics and its distracting factor onto him. So, where did he stop? Oh. Right. _Así, soy un idiota. No tenía problemas, así me las encontré_**³**. Fernandez grunted and put his palm on his forehead, then slowly slipped it down his face while exhaling and, as his hand was moving lower, rubbing his eyes and finally his chin. His mind seemed to lose the right way of proceeding!

All in all, not without some struggle, Fernández had made himself act more reasonably by dealing with all of his reactions onto Erza. Especially those emotional ones, previously kept at the bottom of his heart, and which had drained on top of it by then. As soon as the model had realized his state, he had pushed those feelings at the back of his mind, leaving himself merely worried. Never had he reacted on a woman like that. _Nunca, jamás_**⁴.**

But, oh, one could not have blamed him for any of his reactions, would he? Especially when his gentle, prissy and sanitized side was concerned, so not Latino-like! Jellal sighed and took the last sip of his mojito, finishing the drink. Then he suddenly chuckled. He recalled his Spanish friends' reactions into his mind – above all when it came to their behavior towards women. And when a few years ago everything had been better, and his twin brother, Sieg…

The smile he had had on his face disappeared in a blink of an eye, replaced by a painful expression of a haunted man. _Mierda_. Not again. His darkness. His damned, dim, mysterious past. _El pasado de que quiero, no, quería olvidar_**⁵.**.. But he knew he was not allowed to forget about it, none of the things that happened to them…

_Basta_. Jellal shook his head, forcefully letting go of those unpleasant ghosts which found a way to haunt him again, after their absence… He must have gotten himself together, catch a grip of himself. Business. _Piensa sobre mañana, los hoteles que voy a abrir con mi padre y sobre mi amiga nueva, que todavía no ha vuelto, no está aquí_**⁶**...

Fernández groaned with annoyance. Erza Scarlet – just not her again. Of course, he had taken some odd, outlandish liking to the woman, but was not thinking so much about a slightly met person crossing the line of decency? Well. Probably yes. Yet… How would have he explained reasonably – even to himself – the strong urge to talk to her right then? The urge to see her smile, feel her steady, understanding gaze and hear her saying that it was all right?

Enough. That was enough of his foolishness as for one night. Jellal checked the time, and frowned. He had some things to prepare for the tomorrow's journey, yet he had been sitting over the pool, wasting his time on worrying about things he could not have changed, things he did not have any influence onto anymore. Moreover, the plane he was supposed to take was leaving in six hours.

The model yawned, stood up and stretched his back. _Ya va siendo hora que vayas_, _Jellal__**⁷**_. There was just one and only thing he regretted more than anything.

And that one thing was leaving without any goodbye word to the scarlet-haired woman, who was coming back from her trip in two hours.

* * *

**TRANSLATOR:**

**0 - **Too much.

**1 **– What a luck!

**2** – My God, who turned this music on?

**3** – So, I'm an idiot. I didn't have problems, so I found them myself.

**4** – Never, ever.

**5** – The past which I want to, no, I'd like to forget about…

**6** – Think about tomorrow, the hotels which I'm going to open with my father, and about my new friend, who hasn't come back yet, she's not here…

**7** - It's high time you left, Jellal.

* * *

**So. It took me long enough to write it, and to post it. I've tried to finish this chapter countless times, but always failed miserably. Sorry for the wait, I guess I'm just a bit irresponsible. Oh, and I decided to put some slight clue on what is the Jellal's dark past. Although it seems quite obvious, it's not :D so prepare yourselves.**

**I love you, Readres! You're amazing. I've never expected this story to be so popular, hehe:)**

**If you'd like to share your opinion on this chapter, I'd be on cloud nine :) but no stress at all!**


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